Pakistan on Friday accused India of hitting a school van in the Azad Kashmir, killing the driver and wounding eight schoolchildren. The incident occurred at Mohra village in Nakyal sector of Azad Kashmir where officials said shelling by Indian troops was continuing. "A shell fired by Indian troops hit a school van at LoC (Line of Control) in Nakyal sector. The van driver has been martyred and eight children wounded," Zeeshan Haider, a senior government official told AFP.
There was no immediate reaction from New Delhi. Nakyal lies on the Line of Control. Haider said the driver of the van, carrying pupils from a private school, was killed on the spot while the children, aged between 10 and 15 years, were taken to hospital amid heavy shelling.
Muhammad Nasrullah Khan, a doctor in Nakyal hospital told AFP that the children had shrapnel injuries but their condition was not life threatening. Sardar Iftekhar, a police station house officer in Nakyal confirmed the incident and casualties and told AFP that the wounded children included five girls and three boys. Months of tension between India and Pakistan have erupted into shelling and gunfire across the disputed Kashmir frontier, claiming the lives of dozens of people, including civilians.