Two Pakistani civilians have been martyred and another injured after Indian Border Security Force (BSF) personnel opened fire near the international border in Kasur.
According to security sources cited in media reports, the incident occurred after three residents of Ladhar village moved a few steps beyond a border pillar, adding that BSF personnel opened fire without warning.
All three civilians were unarmed and had not attempted to cross the border fence.
The martyred men were identified as Azmat Rasool Shah and Mohsin Jutt, both residents of Jattan Wali Haveli in Ladhar. The identity of the injured civilian was not disclosed.
Security sources described the firing as unprovoked and said the incident constituted a violation of the border agreement and established Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) governing conduct along the frontier.
The sources also rejected Indian media reports describing the Pakistani civilians as infiltrators.
They said such reports reflected what they characterised as a pattern of portraying similar incidents involving civilians near the border as false-flag operations.
The incident came a day after Pakistan’s military accused India of carrying out a false-flag operation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
According to the Pakistani military, Indian authorities had claimed that a former Pakistani soldier was killed during an encounter in IIOJK.
Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director-General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry subsequently presented Havildar Muhammad Asif before the media to demonstrate that the retired Special Services Group commando was alive.
Asif told reporters that he was alive and residing in Pakistan.
