In a tragic incident, a child was killed, and his father and sister were critically injured after an explosion ripped through a meadow in Harghosil village of Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan region.
The blast, caused by a landmine or unexploded ordnance, occurred while the family’s cattle were grazing near the Line of Control (LoC) that separates Pakistan and India’s Himalayan territories.
Despite the frequent occurrence of such tragedies, the Pak media remains silent, failing to shed light on the plight of the region’s civilians.
The incident has once again drawn attention to the pressing issue of land mines and unexploded ordnance that litter the LoC, posing a constant threat to the safety and livelihoods of border communities in Pakistan-Occupied Gilgit-Baltistan and Pakistan-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
This incident comes at a time when the region grapples with rampant land grabbing by influential mafias, who forcibly or deceitfully seize land from legitimate owners for real estate or monetary gain, subjecting locals to evictions and property loss.
Residents have taken to the streets, protesting the encroachment of their land rights by these powerful groups backed by the cruel Pak Army, but their appeals for justice and intervention have largely fallen on deaf ears.
The testimonies of the protesters highlight the injustice and frustration experienced by local communities, marginalized and denied access to their own lands.