Indian troops fire on AJK PM's helicopter near LoC

Indian forces have opened fire on the helicopter of Azad Jammu and Kashmir's Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider while he was flying near the Line of Control. The Indian forces reportedly mistook the prime minister's chopper for a helicopter of Pakistan Army and opened fire on it. The firing occurred in Taraori village, which is near the Line of Control. No injuries have been reported.
Haider had gone to the village to condole with former AJK Prime Minister Chaudhry Abdul Majid whose brother recently died. The AJK prime minister told media on Sunday that the helicopter did not even cross over to the Indian side of the border. "It was my private helicopter," he said.
"We don't want war in the region," he added. Haider also said that India continues to violate the ceasefire agreement and commits atrocities in Indian-Administered Kashmir. He said that he was not boarding a gunship helicopter that the Indian troops opened fire on it. The incident comes a day after Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that India is responsible for terrorist attacks in Pakistan. While addressing the United Nations General Assembly, he said that India was behind the Army Public School Peshawar and Mastung attacks.
AFP adds: The prime minister of Azad Kashmir said on Sunday his helicopter came under Indian fire while flying close to the highly militarised Line of Control (LoC) but he escaped unhurt. The incident happened in Havaily district in Poonch sector while Raja Farooq Haider was on his way to a nearby village to give condolences to the family of a local politician who had died.
"My helicopter had not even committed any violation and was flying well within our side of the LoC when Indian troops opened fire," Haider said in a statement from Islamabad. Raja Arshad, a senior local administration official in Havaily, confirmed the incident and said Haider was unhurt and there was no damage to the helicopter. The LoC serves as a de facto border dividing the contested Himalayan region between India and Pakistan. There has been a surge of shelling along the LoC in recent months as tensions between India and Pakistan rose.