According to military sources, Indian troops resorted to ‘unprovoked firing’ on Pakistani positions in Rakhchakri sector, near Rawalakot, killing Lance Naik Habibullah. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
MUZAFFARABAD/ ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan summoned the Indian High Commissioner to lodge a strong protest after Indian troops killed two more Pakistani soldiers and injured four others, including civilians, on Thursday, as clashes along the Line of Control (LoC) showed no signs of abating despite Islamabad’s calls for defusing tensions between the two neighbours.
According to military sources, Indian troops resorted to ‘unprovoked firing’ on Pakistani positions in Rakhchakri sector, near Rawalakot, killing Lance Naik Habibullah. Hours after the first incident, Inter-Services Public Relations reported Indian forces killed another Pakistani soldier, Sepoy Gul Wahab, and injured two others in the Hotspring sector.
A Pakistani Army captain was killed in similar cross-LoC firing by Indian troops a day earlier in Kargil.
Indian troops also injured a woman and a child in Nakyal sector on Thursday, local authorities told The Express Tribune.
According to Nakyal Assistant Commissioner Chaudhry Ayub, Shamim Akhtar, 35, and Usama, 12, were injured when Indian forces fired at Balakot village. They were subsequently rushed to the Nakyal Tehsil Headquarters Hospital.
“The firing started around 11pm and continued for almost half an hour,” said Balakot village resident Subhan Rahim.
According to an official statement issued by the foreign ministry, Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani conveyed Pakistan’s ‘serious concern over the continued ceasefire violations by the Indian army’ to Indian High Commissioner TCA Raghavan following the killings of Pakistani soldiers. He urged the Indian government to respect the ceasefire agreement and desist from escalating tensions along the LoC further, the statement added.
The latest ceasefire violation also drew a strong condemnation from Pakistan as both the National Assembly and Senate passed unanimous resolutions against the continued violation of the 2003 ceasefire agreement on Thursday.
But while conveying Pakistan’s serious concerns of the ceasefire violations, Jilani also expressed Islamabad’s keenness to engage with New Delhi in constructive dialogue to restore peace along the LoC. He proposed senior officials from the two countries’ militaries and foreign ministries meet and discuss ways to strengthen existing mechanisms to ensure the ceasefire agreement was observed by both sides.
Earlier, at his weekly news briefing, Foreign Office spokesperson Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry defended Pakistan’s policy of observing restraint and seeking dialogue with India to defuse the situation.
“Responding to provocation with provocation is not the right approach,” he said, adding that Pakistan was following the policy of restraint, responsibility, and dialogue in the larger interest of peace in the region.
“At the same time, the people of Pakistan, the leadership and our institutions are fully capable of defending our territory and our interests,” Chaudhry warned, saying Islamabad’s approach of seeking talks with India should not be construed as its weakness.
Doubts on Nawaz-Manmohan meeting
Answering questions, the spokesman refused to confirm or deny the possibility of a meeting between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh on the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York next month.
“I don’t have the exact date or the confirmation. Of course it has to be with the agreement of two governments,” was his reply when his attention was drawn to Indian media reports suggesting that the summit meeting might not take place in New York between the two Prime Ministers.
“But should that opportunity arise, the leadership of Pakistan is prepared to use that occasion to serve the interest of peace,” he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 23rd, 2013.
COMMENTS (12)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
Firing along LoC, killing a soldier, wounding another, then killing a civilian, then kidnapping a group of civilians, then violation of airspace, then sending a drone into our airspace. and then when Pakistan retaliated Indian news channels are making the headline “Pakistan attacked LOC”. Shame on our media, who are so independent and sensible, that they are not mentioning and creating hypes in our population against India, as Indian media is doing.
I don't understand this blame game. Government of Pakistan and government of India instead of blaming each other, they should agree to establish a joint commission to investigate the breach of ceasefire agreement. The joint commission should be given authority to visit LOC. beside that India has refused many times Pakistan's bilateral talks to resolve the Kashmir Dispute. Despite that Indian massive usage of weapons on LOC has created troubles for noncombatants nearby areas.
@Mobeen: Sure, Indian politicians don't want to loose a hot topic in their upcoming elections by making peace and harmony with Pakistan on all disputes including Kashmir.
But how do you know that these 2 Pakistani soldiers were killed by Indians like Pakistanis did not kill 5 Indian soldiers earlier this month.
Arrival of Bodybags on both sides is the immediate future for some time thanks to whoever started it.
There are very few peoples who read News Papers from both side of borders. And versions are always different. That is why i do not believe blindly to any side
Pakistan had proposed resuming peace talks after dialogue stalled amid some of the most serious border clashes in a decade in Kashmir at the start of the year. Pakistan suggested dates for talks on access to water from major rivers, and the Sir Creek maritime border, as well as the meeting between Singh and Sharif.The talks will only take place if there is a reduction in border violence, Syed Akbaruddin, a spokesman for the Indian Foreign Ministry, said at a briefing in New Delhi on August 21. "An environment in which terrorism or violence is perpetuated against India is not the right type of environment for this," Mr Akbaruddin said.One can clearly see who does not want Peace in the region.
These attempts on part of Indian government will further disturb the existing relations between India and Pakistan. Both are neighbours to each other, both states should come on table and negotiate. Action reaction phenomenon and to violently respond is not the only way to get rid of problems.
Now we can move on to yet another peace talk round and real ceasefire can be implemented as both countries have now lost almost equal number of soldiers
NS is not as naïve as people think. He knows who are doing this but has to thread carefully so that his govt. is not overthrown once again. So talks will continue, putting the trouble makers in their place.
Strong protest, Pakistan's favorite phrase