FO summons India envoy over LoC violations

Islamabad asks New Delhi to respect 2003 ceasefire between the two countries

The Foreign Office on Wednesday summoned India’s top diplomat in Pakistan over unprovoked ceasefire violations by the Indian forces along the Line of Control (LoC).

A statement said FO Spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal summoned the Indian Deputy High Commissioner Gaurav Ahluwalia and condemned the unprovoked ceasefire violations by the Indian forces along the Line of Control (LoC) on October 1, 2019.

A 50-year old woman was martyred while three civilians sustained injuries in Indian shelling on Pakistani villages.

“The Indian occupation forces along the LoC and Working Boundary have continuously been targeting civilian populated areas with artillery fire, heavy-caliber mortars, and automatic weapons, which still continues,” added the press release.

“The deliberate targeting of civilian populated areas is indeed deplorable and contrary to human dignity, international human rights, and humanitarian laws.”

Underscoring that the ceasefire violations were a threat to regional peace, the foreign ministry warned of a strategic miscalculation in the region.

Faisal, who is the director-general for South Asia and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), urged New Delhi to honour the 2003 ceasefire arrangement between the two nuclear-armed nations.

He further called on India to allow the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) to play its mandated role as per the UN Security Council resolutions.

Tensions between the neighbours escalated sharply following New Delhi’s move to revoke the autonomy Indian Occupied Kashmir in August.

Pakistan expelled India’s ambassador and suspended bilateral trade soon after and launched an international diplomacy campaign in an attempt to draw global condemnation of India’s treatment of Kashmiris.

Prime Minister Imran Khan made an impassioned address at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 27, saying there would be a bloodbath once India lifts a curfew and that any all-out conflict between the nations would reverberate far beyond their borders.

India says its revocation of autonomy is an internal matter that will allow its portion of Kashmir to develop economically.

(With additional input from Reuters.)