Pakistan summons Indian diplomat over 'ceasefire violations' along LoC

Pakistan on Wednesday summoned India's Deputy High Commissioner Gaurav Ahluwalia and condemned the "unprovoked ceasefire violations" by the Indian security forces along the Line of Control which resulted in the death of three civilians.

The Foreign Office (FO) said: "the Indian forces along the Line of Control (LoC) and the Working Boundary (WB) are continuously targeting civilian populated areas with heavy weapons".

Director General (SA and SAARC) Mohammad Faisal summoned Ahluwalia and "condemned the unprovoked ceasefire violations" by the Indian security forces along the Line of Control (LoC), the FO said. The FO said that on May 2 in Rakhchikri sector along the LoC, a 15-year-old boy was killed and his 9-year-old sister injured.

On May 5 in Hotspring and Kotkotera sectors along the LoC, a woman and a 12-year-old boy were killed and a woman injured, it said. This unprecedented escalation in ceasefire violations by India is continuing from the year 2017 when the Indian forces committed 1970 ceasefire violations, it said.

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

It said that Faisal urged the Indian side to respect the 2003 ceasefire arrangement; investigate these and other incidents of ceasefire violations; instruct the Indian forces to respect the ceasefire, in letter and spirit and maintain peace along the LoC and the Working Boundary.

He urged that the Indian side should permit 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.

-PTI