Pakistan summons Indian diplomat over 'ceasefire violations'

Islamabad: Pakistan on Tuesday summoned India’s acting Deputy High Commissioner to protest the “unprovoked ceasefire violations” across the Line of Control by the Indian forces that resulted in the death of a Pakistani villager.

Director General (South Asia and SAARC) Mohammad Faisal, who is also the foreign ministry spokesman, summoned the Indian diplomat and “condemned the unprovoked ceasefire violations by the Indian forces along the Line of Control on September 10,” the Foreign Office (FO) said in a statement. The firing in the Khanjar Sector along the LoC resulted in the death of the civilian on Monday, it said.

The FO alleged that the Indian forces have carried out more than 2,050 ceasefire violations along the Line of Control and the Working Boundary, resulting in the death of 33 innocent civilians, while injuring 122 others. “This unprecedented escalation in ceasefire violations by India is continuing from year 2017 when the Indian forces committed 1970 ceasefire violations,” it alleged.

“The deliberate targeting of civilian population areas is indeed deplorable and contrary to human dignity and international human rights and humanitarian laws. The ceasefire violations by India are a threat to regional peace and security and may lead to a strategic miscalculation,” the statement said.

Faisal urged the Indian side to respect the 2003 Ceasefire arrangement; investigate this and other incidents of ceasefire violations; respect the ceasefire and maintain peace on the LoC. He also urged the Indian side to allow the UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) to play its mandated role as per the UN Security Council resolutions.

India maintains that UNMOGIP has outlived its utility and is irrelevant after the Simla Agreement and the consequent establishment of the LoC.