Jammu, July 5:In a strategic move, the Pakistani troops are targeting civilian population along the Line of Control (LoC) and International Border (IB) to stop developmental activities.

A couple of days back, Pakistani troops targeted civilians engaged in road construction in the Mendhar sector of Poonch district by firing a few rounds but fortunately, no one was hurt.

“Road construction has been stopped in the village after Pakistani troops targeted civilians and JCB machines engaged in work. We were constructing a 7-km-long road between Phawadi Gali to Deri village in the Mendhar sector but after the firing, we stopped the work,” a resident said.

“Earlier, they (Pakistan) attacked forward posts of the Army, but now, they have started to adopt a different strategy by targeting civilians to stop any construction work,” he added.

Located ahead of the fencing with no road connectivity, the village consists of 45 residential houses and a population of over 200 with no road connectivity.

“It’s a regular tactic by Pakistani Rangers to deliberately fire a few rounds in the air to hamper developmental activities. They do this every second day along the IB in Kathua,” a senior BSF officer said.