MUZAFFARABAD: An army soldier embraced martyrdom along the restive Line of Control (LoC) in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), military`s media affairs wing said on Thursday.

Sepoy Ghulam Rasool, a resident of Bahawalnagar in Punjab, was martyred inHaji Pir sector after `Indian troops resorted to unprovoked firing,` said the InterServices Public Relations (ISPR) in a brief statement.

Haji Pir sector is located in AJK`s Haveli district and was being intermittently targeted by the Indian troops since Monday.

A 45-year-old man was martyred on Monday in the neighbouring Neza Pir sector of Haveli district, after a dud shell he picked up from outside his house in Kairni Jabri village exploded.

Tensions have been running high since February this year when an Indian army convoy was attacked in the Pulwama area, following which Indian jets intruded into Pakistan`s airspace and jettisoned their payload in a Khyber Pal(htunkhwa village.

Early last month, Indian troops went on to use cluster munitions to target the civilian population in AJK, in serious violation of the GenevaConvention and international law.

Relationship between Pakistan and India worsened after the specialstatus of occupied Kashmir was scrapped by the BJP government through a `constitutional coup` on Aug 5 and the territory was put under a lockdown, amid round the clock curfew and communications blockade.

According to civilian and military sources, at least 37 civilians and 17 army personnel have lost their lives to unprovoked ceasefire violations by the Indian army in different areas of AJK along the LoC in 2019.