Lawat is located some 90 kilometres northeast of here in the upper belt of valley that straddles the restive Line of Control (LoC).

The coaster was on its way to Muzaffarabad, the report added

“Four bodies and all 11 injured persons have arrived in District Headquarters Hospital Athmuqam, but five bodies are still in the coaster,” SP Mir was quoted to have said.

He said shelling in Neelum valley had begun at about 3:00am, but intensified in the morning. Officials from other areas had similar stories, the report added.

“Shelling in my area has started at about 8:40 am, and it has been indiscriminate,” Sardar Zeeshan Nisar, assistant commissioner of Nakyal, in the southern Kotli district, was quoted to have said.

“So far, four injured persons have been brought to a health facility, but I am afraid there may be more casualties, as shelling is ongoing,” Nisar told Dawn, adding that one of the wounded had succumbed to their injuries.

Tatta Pani sector of district Kotli was also receiving shells, but so far there was no report of casualties there, the report added.

Locals in Battal, Madarpur sectors of district Poonch said their areas were also hit by heavy shelling, the report said.

“There were unconfirmed reports about some people having been injured, but we are awaiting confirmation,” a police official told Dawn from Madarpur.

Military sources said that Pakistan army was serving “knee-jerk” response to Indian shelling, the report added.