Pakistan accuses India of shelling school van

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) - Pakistan accused India of targeting a school van by shelling across the dividing boundary of the disputed Kashmir valley, killing at least one civilian and injuring four others on Friday, according to Pakistani army’s media wing.

The Inter Services Public Relations also said Pakistani forces responded to the “unprovoked” attack along the de-facto border, known as the Line Of Control, by targeting bunkers of Indian forces. However, it did not say exactly how it responded and how many casualties, if any, it inflicted on the Indian side.

Pakistan also summoned the Indian deputy high commissioner to its Foreign Ministry and lodged a protest over the targeting of a school van in the fresh round of shelling, a statement from the Foreign Ministry said.

The alleged attack on a school van comes at a sensitive time for Pakistan, which on Friday was marking the second anniversary of the Peshawar school massacre by terrorists that left 144 people, mostly children, dead.

Hostilities between the two nuclear neighbors have increased since a militant attack on an army base in Indian-held Kashmir in September last killing 19 Indian soldiers.

New Delhi accused Pakistani intelligence agencies of having a hand in the brazen attack, a charge Islamabad denies.

More than 60 civilians and troops from both sides have been killed in the ongoing wave of clashes since September.