Pakistan summons Indian Deputy High Commissioner over 'ceasefire violations'

Lodging its protest over alleged “ceasefire violations” along Line of Control (LoC), Pakistan on Wednesday summoned India’s Deputy High Commissioner J P Singh. The move came after an elderly woman died in the violations, the neighbour alleged.

The Pakistan’s foreign office informed Dr Mohammad Faisal, Director General (South Asia and SAARC), summoned Singh and “condemned the unprovoked ceasefire violations” by the Indian forces in Chirikot sector on Tuesday.

It said a 75-year-old woman was killed in the firing. Faisal alleged that despite calls for restraint, India continues to indulge in ceasefire violations.

“The deliberate targeting of civilians 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,” he added.

The Foreign Office said Faisal urged the Indian side to respect the 2003 ceasefire arrangement, investigate this and other incidents of ceasefire violations, and instruct the Indian forces to respect the ceasefire in letter and spirit and maintain peace along the LoC and the Working Boundary.

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 Line of Control.

Faisal claimed that Indian forces have carried out more than 1,300 ceasefire violations along the LoC and the Working Boundary this year, resulting in the death of 50 civilians. (With PTI Inputs)