RAWALPINDI: A woman was martyred and a minor girl was wounded on Monday when Indian forces opened provoked fire at Pakistan’s civilian population along the Line of Control (LoC), the de facto border between Pakistan and India at Jammu and Kashmir, and the Working Boundary.
According to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Indian forces once again violated the ceasefire agreement and deliberately targeted the civilian population at Jandrot and Khuiratta sectors along LoC on Monday morning. The military’s media wing said that the wounded child was evacuated and was being provided medical care.
Meanwhile, the Foreign Office summoned the head of Indian High Commission in Islamabad to lodge protest over the latest ceasefire violation.
Indian Charge d’Affaires Gaurav Ahluwalia was summoned by Director General (South Asia & Saarc) Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri, to register Pakistan’s strong protest over the ceasefire violations by the Indian occupation forces along the LoC, the FO said.
“The Indian occupation forces along the LoC and the Working Boundary (WB) have continuously been targeting civilian populated areas with artillery fire, heavy-calibre mortars and automatic weapons. This year, India has committed 882 ceasefire violations,” according to the FO.
Condemning the targeting of innocent civilians by the Indian occupation forces, the DG (SA & Saarc) underscored that such senseless acts, in clear violation of the 2003 Ceasefire Understanding and complete disregard for international human rights and international norms, further vitiate the tense atmosphere along the LoC and are a threat to regional peace and security.
He added that by raising tensions along the LoC and the WB, India cannot divert attention from the grave human rights situation in the Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJ&K).
The DG (SA & Saarc) called upon the Indian side to respect the 2003 Ceasefire Understanding; investigate this and other such incidents of deliberate ceasefire violations and maintain peace along the LoC and the WB. He also urged the Indian side to allow the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) to play its mandated role as per the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolutions.
Tensions continued to persist between Pakistan and India despite the outbreak of Covid-19. ISPR DG Major General Babar Iftikhar last week told a news conference that since the outbreak of coronavirus in Pakistan on February 26, as many as 456 ceasefire violations by Indian army were detected.
