Pakistan Violates Ceasefire In Jammu And Kashmir's Mendhar Sector, Indian Army Retaliates

The Pakistani army on Sunday violated ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir’s Mendhar sector at 7 pm. According to the initial reports, the Indian army retaliated to the unprovoked firing. Pakistan had, on Saturday, summoned a senior diplomat from the High Commission of India and registered protest at the alleged ceasefire violations by Indian security forces along the LoC.

The Foreign Office said that a man has been injured in the "indiscriminate and unprovoked firing" by the Indian forces in Satwal Sector of the Line of Control (LoC) on February 1. "Such senseless Indian acts... further vitiate the tense atmosphere along the LoC and pose a threat to the regional peace and stability," the FO said in a statement.

The FO summoned a "senior diplomat from the High Commission of India" and registered a strong protest over the incident. Pakistan called upon the Indian side to respect the 2003 Ceasefire Understanding; investigate this and other incidents of deliberate ceasefire violations and maintain peace along the LoC and the WB, it said.

The FO said India should permit 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.

India maintains that the UNMOGIP, established in January 1949, has outlived its utility and is irrelevant after the Simla Agreement and the consequent establishment of the LoC.