LoC violations: India in bid to distract us from war on terror, says Raheel

Army chief makes first visit to forward positions along LoC to wish troops Eid

RAWALPINDI:

Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif said on Thursday that continuous ceasefire violations by India along the Line of Control (LoC) and the Working Boundary cannot distract Pakistan from its war on terror, warning that the military could handle two different wars.

“Pakistan Army is a battle hardened Army which has successfully handled two different kinds of war and is capable of defending every inch of the motherland,” he said.

According to the military’s media wing the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), Gen Raheel visited forward locations along the LoC on Thursday. He met with troops deployed on heights overlooking the Kashmir valley.

The army chief appreciated the readiness of soldiers who were giving befitting replies to unprovoked firing from India.

Talking about ceasefire violations by India along the LOC and the Working Boundary, Gen Raheel called it an attempt to distract Pakistan from the war against terror. However, he added that the attempt was unsuccessful.

His comments come just days after the top commanders from Pakistani and Indian armies on Monday held a crucial flag meeting in Poonch Sector along LoC. in a bid to deescalate tensions caused by frequent skirmishes.

That meeting came nearly 10 days after officials of Pakistan Rangers and Indian Border Security Force (BSF) had met in New Delhi on September 10 and agreed to deescalate tension along the working boundary.

However, Indian forces have continued to violate the LoC regularly resulting in the deaths of civilians and soldiers. The Indian deputy high commissioner in Islamabad has been summoned to the foreign office at least twice since the New Delhi meeting to protest the unprovoked firing.

Help for Indian firing victims

With Indian firing claiming as many as a dozen lives along the LoC in the past month, the army chief on Thursday extended assistance to residents who had been affected.

Expressing solidarity with the civilians living along LOC, Gen Raheel paid tribute to their resilience and sacrifices.

He reiterated that the army will provide them with all necessary assistance.


Published in The Express Tribune, September 25^th, 2015.