New low even for Pakistan: India hits out at Islamabad for targetting religious places

New Delhi, May 9 (IANS) As Pakistani troops continued resorting to heavy mortar shelling on the Indian side along the Line of Control (LoC), India on Friday slammed the rogue nation for specifically targetting religious places labelling it as a "new low even for Pakistan".

"We have seen the Pakistani side targetting and shelling places of worship with a particular design, including gurdwaras, churches and temples. This is a new low even for Pakistan," Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said during a special media briefing on Operation Sindoor in New Delhi.

Misri not only highlighted Pakistani Army's attack on a Gurdwara in Poonch - which resulted in the death of some local members of the Sikh community, including the Ragi of the Gurdwara - but also the shelling on Christian schools, exposing Pakistan's false claims of not targetting any religious places.

"We do have some information about this extremely regrettable and condemnable incident. During heavy shelling across the Line of Control in the early morning of 7th May, a shell fired from Pakistan landed just behind the Christ School run by the Carmelites of the Mary Immaculate Congregation in Poonch. Tragically, the shell fired from Pakistan hit the home of two students of the Christ School. Both students unfortunately lost their lives, and their parents were severely injured," he said.

"Another Pakistani shell struck a Christian Convent of Nuns belonging to the Congregation of Mother of Carmel, damaging water tanks and destroying solar panel infrastructure. Several priests, nuns, school staff and local residents took refuge in an underground hall beneath the school during the shelling by Pakistan. The school was fortunately closed at that time otherwise more losses would have occurred," the Foreign Secretary detailed.

The Indian Army on Thursday strongly condemned the killing of innocent civilians in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district, vowing that such attacks will be met with resolute and punitive action.

Pakistan's "provocative and escalatory actions" continued on Thursday night as it targetted Indian cities and civilian infrastructure in addition to the military targets.

"The official and blatantly farcical denial of these attacks carried out by Pakistan, made by the Pakistani state machinery, is yet another example of their duplicity and the new depths they are sinking to in their quest for disinformation," Misri mentioned on Friday.

--IANS

/as