Pakistan summons senior Indian diplomat to protest LoC ceasefire violations

India committed 2,404 ceasefire violations to date this year, resulting in martyrdom of 19 civilians, says FO

ISLAMABAD:

A senior Indian diplomat was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday to register Pakistan’s strong protest over the ceasefire violations by the Indian forces along the Line of Control (LoC) on Wednesday, resulting in serious injuries to a civilian.

Due to indiscriminate and unprovoked firing by the Indian occupation forces in Jandrot Sector of the LoC, 65-year-old Kalsum Begum, wife of Mandi Khan, resident of Kathar village, sustained serious injuries, Foreign Office Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said in statement.

He said the Indian troops along the LoC and the Working Boundary (WB) had been continuously targeting civilian populated areas with artillery fire, heavy-calibre mortars and automatic weapons.

This year, he said, India had committed 2,404 ceasefire violations to date, resulting in martyrdom of 19 and serious injuries to 192 innocent civilians.

Condemning the deplorable targeting of innocent civilians by the Indian occupation forces, it was underscored that such senseless acts were in clear violation of the 2003 Ceasefire Understanding, and were also against all established humanitarian norms and professional military conduct.

“These egregious violations of international law reflect consistent Indian attempts to escalate the situation along the LoC and are a threat to regional peace and security,” the spokesperson said.

According to the official statement, by raising tensions along the LoC and the WB, India could not divert attention from the grave human rights situation in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK).

The spokesperson said the Indian side was called upon to respect the 2003 Ceasefire Understanding, investigate this and other such incidents of deliberate ceasefire violations, and maintain peace along the LoC and the WB.

New Delhi was also urged to allow the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) to play its mandated role as per the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions.