Four AJK youth martyred in blast involving suspected drifted landmine near LOC
Explosion occurs during water-pipe repair in Hajira, AJK; Delhi tries to spin incident
Muzaffarabad: Four young men from Azad Kashmir were martyred when an explosive device, suspected to be a landmine that had drifted from its original location, went off as they were repairing a water-spring pipe in Mahendla village of Hajira tehsil, Poonch district, Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
According to Kashmir Media Service, local elders told the media that the device may have been an Indian Army-laid landmine that had drifted near the spring. The blast killed all four young men at the scene.
The victims were identified as Sardar Faizan Sagheer, Sardar Ishtiaq, Asim Rafiq and Waqas Sharif. All four belonged to the Doli community and were aged between 20 and 30. Their bodies were shifted to the Tehsil Headquarters Hospital in Hajira.
The incident has raised serious concerns over the danger posed to Kashmiri civilians by anti-personnel landmines laid by Indian troops along the Line of Control (LoC), particularly in areas where civilians rely on local water sources and undertake essential repair work.
Poonch Commissioner Sardar Waheed confirmed the incident, saying the nature of the explosion was being examined.
However, New Delhi through its media has attempted to frame the tragedy as a possible infiltration bid. Analysts said such propaganda is aimed at diverting attention from the deaths of four Kashmiri youth and the reported presence of a deadly landmine near a civilian water source. Any attempt to portray the incident as an infiltration-related episode without credible evidence could fuel a misleading narrative, deflect scrutiny from civilian safety and prejudice public understanding before an independent investigation establishes the facts, they added.
