“We cannot and must not allow for an escalation of a very unwholesome event that has taken place,” says Khurshid.
Pakistan proposed on Wednesday a UN investigation into recent ceasefire violations along its heavily militarised de facto border with India as New Delhi protested the “killing of two of its soldiers” by Pakistani troops.
The move was prompted by India’s allegations that Pakistani troops crossed the Line of Control (LoC), triggering a gunfight which killed two soldiers – one of them, according to Indian authorities, was beheaded.
Islamabad strongly denied the charge.
“These allegations are baseless and unfounded,” said a Foreign Office statement. Pakistan is prepared to investigate the matter through the UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP), which monitors the ceasefire from both sides of the LoC, it added.
It also called for strengthening existing military mechanisms to ensure there is no recurrence of such violations in the future. Pakistan is committed to a constructive, sustained and result-oriented engagement process with India.
“Pakistan has taken a number of steps to normalise and improve bilateral relations [with India]. It is important that both sides make serious efforts to maintain this improvement and avoid negative propaganda,” read the statement.
Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, meanwhile, said that her country was “a bit appalled” at some of the statements from Indian side.
“I represent a government that has invested four years to build an environment of trust [with India] in order to move towards regional peace and internal stability,” she told India’s CNN-IBN news channel.
Commanders discuss escalation
In Islamabad, a senior military official told The Express Tribune that military commanders from both sides discussed the sudden escalation in hostilities across the LoC on Wednesday.
“We have offered a third-party investigation but India does not appear to be willing for that,” said the official requesting anonymity because he was not authorised to speak publicly on the matter.
He said Pakistani officials informed their Indian counterparts that an investigation by Pakistani authorities found nothing to support their allegations.
The hostilities started on Sunday when Indian forces allegedly raided a Pakistani outpost in Haji Pir Sector in Azad Kashmir, killing one soldier and injuring another. Islamabad protested the incident at the diplomatic level. Tension flared two days later after India made similar allegations.
India lodges formal protest
Earlier in the day, Pakistan’s high commissioner was summoned to India’s foreign ministry to register a “strong protest” over the deaths of Indian soldiers in the alleged raid by Pakistani forces. “The soldiers’ bodies have been subjected to barbaric and inhuman mutilation in contravention of all norms of international conduct,” said an Indian foreign ministry statement.
Mixed political reaction
Despite the furore, Indian foreign minister sought to tone down the rhetoric. “We cannot and must not allow for an escalation of a very unwholesome event that has taken place,” Salman Khurshid told reporters in New Delhi.
Unlike the past, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also adopted a pragmatic approach and called for an investigation. BJP leader Arun Jaitley asked the government to place all facts before the international community.
“It is now incumbent on the government of India, since Pakistan continues to be in denial, to collect the evidence, place them before the international community so that Pakistan can be named and shamed … for this brutal attack,” Jaitley said.
However, the Hindu hard-line Shiv Sena party called for an armed conflict to retaliate the raid: suggesting there are now more stakeholders in the political spectrum for peace with Pakistan than ever before.
(Read: Border skirmishes)
Published in The Express Tribune, January 10th, 2013.
COMMENTS (15)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
@Ali: The real reason you're totally wrong is that you don't read much. The incident happen in foggy weather, where two pakistani soilder or terorist entered Indian boundary to 100-300m and started firing when caught and firing started from both side . After half hour of the same they got back. It was then Indian officers found the bodies of two dead solders , and one of them did not even had his head and both had multiple stab wounds. It is also Ironic that you are so less informed that third parties never do much. that is why Pakistan involves them, Do you think it was any use to involve third party in Mumbai attack, when pakistan simply denied having any connection to it, even after all the proof was presented internationally. it was simply denying till it reached absurdity. No wonder you understanding is so low and stupid. read international new's Pakistan is still as we speak , violating the cease fire agreement .The whole world knows that except pakistani.
@Indian Heroine: oh really, wow that is true. but at least they are doing something about that problem too. Not hiding their women behind bhukhas like as if woman are second class citizen. They treat women equally not keep them at a lower side but you might also take that as stupid rite?
and yes Pakistan has many times more rape here. But the law only support rapist so women keep quite over here to save themself some left over dignity... If you don't know what I am talking about read the pakistan rape law.
Well the Indian fox is hiding his own intrusion and killing of Pak army jawan by blaming Pakistan for killing his soldiers who were beaten to death how can this happen unless the engagement of troops is hand to hand this is unbelievable and absurd.They are just countering the killing of Pak soldier which was sheer and clear violation of LOC.Pakistan has rightly offered an investigation by the UNO observers which are station on the both sides of LOC but the Indian liar and dodgers will never agree to this proposal because they know they are at fault.
why the heck is Pakistan so apologetic?? It is all India who started this dirty game ... nobody is questioning it...
If India is true on its this false,fabricated and embellished stance that Pakistan started firing first and does have enough and sufficient evidences to prove its false stance/standpoint true then why doesn't go to UNO and if now this time India doesn't want to go UNO for investigation then in the past why India has been contacting with UNO for the other issues? Not going to UNO of India proves and shows that India is telling the lie and only accusing Pakistan of starting firing and attacking first on Indian check post...
If you do not want UN to investigate this matter then stop crying, Indian trolls.
I am surprised that our government is laying down infront of India. I see people commenting that Pakistan should investigate the cross fire on LoC, I think India should do that first about the violation of LoC before demanding the same from Pakistan. Also I would like to understand one thing, how in the world can one subject dead bodies to barbaric and inhuman mutilation in a cross fire?? As far as my understanding goes, there is a significant distance between the LoC Borders on both side. There is definately disparity in the statements from Indian side. This leads me to believe that India is protesting over the soliders that were killed during their Insurgence on Pakistani Post in Haji Pir Sector in Azad Kashmir. If Pakistan has asked for third party investigation then they are extremely confident about the lies that are coming from Indian Side. I also believe that Pakistani Government should start showing some backbone and self-respect. Their reaction towards these allegations are extremely weak, they need to a lot more firm towards their stance and not lie down infront of India like slaves.
@Falcon: Hmm. So lets think, what you expect the UN Inspectors to do ? By some magic wand make the soldiers speak truth whether they did it or not ? Pakistan has become master in denial of crime until someone produce "concrete proof" in their standards. Are they going to hunt down the missing head ? Pakistani army which supports terrorists, and which has been fighting terrorist under pressure from USA and world has become brutal enough to start acting like one. Beheading is just their daily time pass.
I think Hina Rabbani and Rehman Mallik should co-ordinate with each other and then deal publicly with India. their contrast behaviour in recent times is not digestable. If Hina Rabbani is really sincere she now has to act on both 26/11 and this recent issue of killing our young Jawans. Enough talks now. And if she can't she better except this. Her efforts will be appreciated only if they breed results.hOW AND WHY SHOULD WE NOT THINK OF PROTECTING OUR BORDERS. Anyways we also need to think about the families of our two young jawans.
Indian and Pakistani soldiers have been regularly beheading each other on LoC for several years now. It is a game they play with each other, which Indians are suddenly feeling too self-righteous about. There are no saints here. Indian's should get off their high horse and face the facts. It was they who killed a Pakistani soldier and critically injured another first in this round. And they should worry about their country, than suggest what Pakistanis should do. Hasn't Delhi recently been called the rape capital of India...
India should mobilize troops and move them to LOC and keep them on alert. Nothing more is needed. As for Pakistan talking of taking Kashmir, they had only one chance to cause any damage to India. That was in 1962 when India was facing severe defeat from China. At that time, China asked Pakistan not to take advantage as it may internationalize the war. So, Pakistan could not do anything. However, they still had the burning itch and we know what happened in 1965. China woke up India in 1962 and India has never been defeated in any war since then.
Inviting the UN to investigate is a nice gesture - but as I recall when the Pakistani civilian govt invited the UN to investigate the missing people in Balochistan the military refused to meet with them. It's an unfortunate fact that the Pakistan military doesn't report to the civilian govt and Khar's statements don't carry much weight.
Pakitan is a socitey that is tearing apart from within. The various government bodies donot seem to be working in concert. The elected government seems to pursue peace (at the least is going through the motions) but the military and it's proxies work hard to undermine it. It is India's fault to initiate the peace dialogue when all the parties on Pakistani side were not on-board. The only option for India is to seal the border with Pakistan and let them implode in their squalor. There is just no hope for peace or Pakistan.
Why escalate when the issue can be resolved? I really really feel sad for soldiers on the both side who lost their lives to this skirmish...but I don't understand why India is not allowing UN to step in for a neutral inquiry?
Why should India care for UN investigation call of PAK for a crime committed in her soil.
Pak docket is still full with Mumbai, and OBL and this.
The honorable thing for PAK to do is to come out and say "we will investigate and punish those responsible, as in Mumbai massacre!"
Denying the transgression is not a good thing and falsifying that it is Indian propaganda may go well for now, but it will come and haunt PAK as in OBL, and countless others.