Pakistan lodges protest with India over LoC ceasefire violation

Dunya News

Two innocent civilians lost their lives in the unprovoked firing along LoC.

ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Pakistan today (Aug 28) strongly protested against India over breach of ceasefire agreement along Line of Control (LoC) after neighbor-country started unprovoked firing targeting civilians on Wednesday.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement today which stated that the Director General (SA & SAARC), Dr. Mohammad Faisal, summoned the Indian Deputy High Commissioner Gaurav Ahluwalia today and condemned the unprovoked ceasefire violations by the Indian occupation forces along the Line of Control (LoC).

In the most recent ceasefire violations by the Indian forces on 27 August 2019 in Nekrun Sector of LoC, two innocent civilians Abdul Jalil and 3 years old girl Nausheen were martyred and three others have sustained serious injuries. Moreover, in Chirikot Sector of LoC, a 4 years old boy has sustained serious injuries.

The Indian occupation forces along the LoC and working boundary have continuously been targeting civilian populated areas with artillery fire, heavy-caliber mortars, and automatic weapons, which still continues. This unprecedented escalation in ceasefire violations by India is continuing from the year 2017 when the Indian forces committed 1970 ceasefire violations.

The deliberate targeting of civilian populated areas is indeed deplorable and contrary to human dignity, 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 Director General (SA & SAARC) 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 on 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.

On August 27, in another cowardly act, Indian forces resorted to unprovoked firing along the Line of Control (LoC), claiming lives of two innocent Pakistani civilians and injuring three others.

According to the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), the deceased have been identified as 45-year-old Abdul Jalil and 3-year-old Nosheen. Indian forces targeted civilian settlements in Nekrun Sector. Reportedly, fire also engulfed three houses in the area after heavy shelling from Indian side.

Indian forces repeated ceasefire violation and targeted civilians amid already tensed situation between both nuclear-armed neighbors over scrapping of special status of the occupied Kashmir by the Modi-led Hindu nationalist government after they abrogated the Article 370 and 35-A.