SRINAGAR/MUZZAFARABAD: Five members of an Indian family were killed and two injured by shelling from Pakistani troops on Sunday along the Line of Control, the de facto border between India and Pakistan, according to army and police officials.
Both sides were engaging in heavy shelling despite a 15-year-old ceasefire between the nuclear-armed rivals in the area, the officials said.
Nine people were also wounded across the border in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir due to the shelling from India that began late Saturday night, Pakistani officials said on Sunday.
Tension has been running high since an attack on an Indian army camp in India-controlled Kashmir last month in which six soldiers were killed. India blamed Pakistan for the attack and said it would make its rival pay for the "misadventure."
The South Asian neighbors have fought two of their three wars since independence in 1947 over Muslim-majority Kashmir, which they both claim in full but rule in part.
Indian Defense spokesman Lt Col Devender Anand said on Sunday that Pakistani troops started the shelling around 7:45 in the morning.
"They are specifically targeting civilian areas," Anand said. "Army troops retaliated strongly and effectively to silence Pakistani guns."
Director General of Indian Police in Kashmir, S P Vaid said the five people were killed in the village of Devta Dhar when a shell hit the house of Choudhary Mohammad Ramzan.
Ramzan, 45, his wife Malka Bi, 45, and three sons - Muhammad Rehman, 19, Muhammad Rizwan, 18, and Muhammad Razaq, 8 all died, Vaid said.
Two of Ramzan's daughters - Nooren Akhtar, 14, and Marin Akhtar, 7, were critically injured in the incident and were airlifted to a hospital in Jammu, Vaid said.
Five Indians killed in cross-border shelling by Pakistani troops
Five Indians killed in cross-border shelling by Pakistani troops
Pakistan sees 5% increase in overseas employment, remittance surge by 9% in 2025 — ministry
- Hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis annually travel abroad to seek jobs in Gulf, Europe, US and other nations
- Hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis annually travel abroad to seek jobs in Gulf, Europe, US and other nations
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan reported a 5% increase in overseas employment and a 9% rise in workers’ remittances, Pakistani state media reported on Sunday, citing the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis.
Hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis every year travel abroad for jobs in Gulf countries, Europe, the United States and other nations, who send back funds in foreign currencies that help Islamabad maintain its foreign exchange reserves.
Sharing key updates from the last year, the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis said “tangible measures,” taken by the Bureau of Immigration to facilitate overseas job seekers, had yielded positive results in 2025, the Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported.
“A total of 762,499 Pakistanis were sent abroad in 2025, while overseas Pakistanis remitted about 40 billion dollars during the year,” it reported, citing the ministry.
The ministry noted that it signed labor mobility agreements with Italy, Belarus and Iraq in 2025.
Pakistan currently seeks to diversify overseas employment destinations for its workforce and increase remittance inflows as it navigates a long path to economic recovery under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout.
“Italy’s allocation of 10,500 workers for Pakistan over three years was a major development providing opportunities for about 3,500 workers per year for three years,” the ministry said.
“Qatar’s resumption of work visas for Pakistani workers after 19 years expanded access to Gulf countries.”
