A police official said a sniper fire by India forces killed a woman outside her home in Abbaspur in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
Police official Zulqarnain Chaudhry said the woman was killed on Sunday and that the fire came from India, across the boundary in the disputed Himalayan region.
The incident took place as US Senators Chris Van Hollen and Maggie Hassan along with their staffers and US Chargé d’ Affaires Ambassador Paul Jones were visiting Muzaffarabad to “see the ground situation and gauge public sentiment” following the illegal actions taken by India in occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
The US senators had said they would “continue to urge India to lift the curfew and release all prisoners as a first step”.
The delegation also met Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) President Sardar Masood Khan and Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haide, and the dignitaries were offered to “see firsthand the vibrant and thriving Kashmiri community in Azad Kashmir”. They were also provided a historical background of the dispute.
Tensions between Pakistan and India escalated following the Indian government’s decision to unilaterally revoke Article 370 of its constitution, which granted special autonomy to occupied Kashmir. A communications blackout and heavy restrictions on movement imposed by the Indian authorities from the eve of this development have been in place for over two months now.
