Indian Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. PHOTO: AFP/ FILE
In a flare-up of ongoing tensions between Pakistan and India, at least eight civilians were injured on Monday when Indian border security forces carried out unprovoked firing along the working boundary in Sialkot sector.
Reporting ceasefire violations, military sources disclosed that the latest incident took place at villages Harpal, Dhamala and Janglora in Sialkot sector, and represented a rare but gradual spread of cross-border firing from the Line of Control (LoC) to the Working Boundary.
In a similar incident last week, Pakistan military said a civilian was killed and two others were injured due to firing by Indian forces across the boundary. On October 18, Pakistan accused India of killing a paramilitary soldier in another incident of unprovoked firing in the Sialkot area.
Despite an agreement between Premier Nawaz Sharif and his Indian counterpart last month to lower tensions along the LoC, both the armies have continued to exchange fire across the de facto border.
The two premiers, who met in New York at the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session, had mandated their respective Director General Military Operations (DGMO) to work out a plan to prevent repeated ceasefire violations.
Anxiously awaited, the rare face-to-face meeting between DGMOs of the two armies is expected to take place in coming days, with an official telling The Express Tribune that the crucial talks would take place following the return of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from his first bilateral visit to Washington.
Indian Reaction
Taking a hawkish position Chief Minister of Indian held Kashmir Omar Abdullah on Monday called for the Indian government to ‘look at other options if talks were not helping put an end to ceasefire violations.’
“It cannot be a one sided affair, we can’t be at the receiving end without giving any response,” he added after Indian media reported that more people were migrating from border areas due to increased shelling.
Responding to an earlier statement my Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, where he called for world powers to help mediate the Kashmir dispute between the two neighbouring countries, Abdullah said that he wouldn’t accept any third party intervention in Kashmir.
Working Boundary
Pakistan describes the border area around Sialkot as the Working Boundary as it runs between the end of the international border between Pakistan and India from Sindh to Punjab and the beginning of the Line of Control, the de facto border between India and Pakistan in Kashmir.
India has fenced its international border with Pakistan and has been trying to fence the Line of Control in Kashmir to control what it calls intrusions of militants from the Azad Kashmir. The move has, however, been resisted by Pakistan on the grounds that India wants to turn the LOC into a permanent boundary.
Tensions flared up between Islamabad and New Delhi after India accused the Pakistan army of killing five of its soldiers across the LoC on August 6. Since then the two armies have engaged in a series of ceasefire violations threatening efforts to revive the stalled peace process.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 22nd, 2013.
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