Jammu, March 18: Two children- who  have been severely injured in Pak shelling in Jammu and Kashmir's Balakote Sector today have been airlifted by the Indian Air Force.  The injured sisters- identified as Nasreen Kouser (11) and Mahreen Kouser (5) were airlifted to Jammu for specialised treatment, the police official said.

The evacuation was done by Indian Air Force from Rajouri.  As per reports, the IAF airlifted the injured kids in IAF Chetak by Flight  by Lieutenant Mittal and Flying Officer Akash to Jammu for emergency care.  Among those deceased are civilian Mohammad Ramzan, his wife and three children, while two of his children are injured.

The attack by Pakistani troops today killed five members of a family including three minor brothers, officials said. Earlier in the day,  Jammu Inspector General of Police (IGP) SD Singh Jamwal said those injured in the firing are being brought here for specialised treatment.

Officials said that the "unprovoked and indiscriminate" shelling of civilian areas almost three-four kilometres from the Line of Control (LoC) by the Pakistani troops, in violation of a ceasefire agreement, lasted nearly four hours this morning.

As per PTI reports, Army PRO Lt. Col. Devender Anand said the mortar shelling from across the LoC was "unprovoked and indiscriminate" and lasted from 0745 hours to 1130 hours. Indian troops guarding the border retaliated strongly and effectively, he added. Meanwhile,Director General of Police S P Vaid in a tweet said, "Due to shelling from across (LoC) in Balakote sector of Poonch, 5 civilians of a family died & 2 are injured who are being shifted to hospital."

The civilian casualties occurred in forward village of Devta Sargloon when a shell hit the mud house of Choudhary Mohammad Ramzan (35), a police official said. The deceased were Ramzan, his wife Malika bi (32), their sons Abdul Rehman (14), Mohammad Rizwan (12) and Razaq Ramzan (seven). Ramzan's two daughters -- Nasreen Kouser (11) and Mahreen Kouser (five) -  were critically injured in the incident and were airlifted to Jammu for specialised treatment, the police official said.

Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Mehbooba Mufti expressed anguish over the loss of lives and stressed the need for peace if we want to save the people of the state.Pakistan continues in its cowardly design of targeting innocent civilians, their homes and livestock in villages close to the LoC. The deliberate provocation has resulted in loss of five precious and innocent civilian lives, the Army PRO said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 18, 2018 04:23 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).