Pakistan summons Indian envoy over ceasefire violations

UN mission visits Kotli; India committed 178 ceasefire violations in 2016, says ISPR


News Desk November 01, 2016
A soldier stands on guard along the Line of Control. PHOTO: FILE

Director General South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) Dr Mohammad Faisal summoned on Tuesday Indian Deputy High Commissioner JP Singh and strongly condemned the unabated ceasefire violations by Indian troops along the Line of Control (LoC).

At least six civilians, including a woman, were killed on Monday by the Indian forces firing in Nakyal and Jandrot sector, a Foreign Office (FO) statement said.

The DG urged the Indian officials to respect the 2003 Ceasefire Understanding and investigate the consistent incidents of violation.

Four civilians killed in fresh Indian cross-border fire

Faisal also "instructed the Indian military, in letter and spirit, to stop targeting the villages and civilians in order to maintain peace along the Working Boundary and LoC", the FO communique added.

Relations between the two countries have plummeted in recent months, with New Delhi blaming Islamabad for a raid on an army base in September that killed 19 soldiers. Pakistan denies the charge.

Tensions were already high before the army base attack over the July 8 death of a popular militant leader, with nearly 90 people killed in clashes with security forces in Indian-held Kashmir since then.

Last week the Modi government said it was expelling a Pakistani visa official for suspected spying, with Islamabad responding by sending back an Indian diplomat in an apparent tit-for-tat move.

UN mission visits Kotli

A group of United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) visited Kotli district, near the LoC, on Tuesday and obtained firsthand information of Indian high handedness of targeting civil population near the de facto border.

India committed 178 ceasefire violations in 2016

Indian forces committed 178 ceasefire violations along the LoC and Working Boundary this year, killing 19 civilians and injuring 80 others, the ISPR said.

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