Diplomatic corps taken to LoC to ascertain India's false claims against Pakistan
They said Indian Charge de Affairs has also been invited to prove the claim of his army chief.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Pakistan on Tuesday took a team of diplomatic corps to the Neelum Valley in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) along the Line of Control to witness firsthand if Indian Army had "smashed four terror launch pads" there early Sunday, according to a tweet by Foreign Office spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal on Tuesday.
The diplomatic corps were flown to Jura sector to inspect the damage caused by the Indian unprovoked firing last Saturday night and Sunday.
The foreign diplomats and the media were shown the pieces of the shells fired by the Indian artillery. Indian forces have been targeting the civilian population along the Line of Control (LoC) with heavy artillery.
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The diplomats and the media with their own eyes reviewed the Indian violations and provocation.
According to diplomatic sources, invitations were extended to heads of missions of all embassies in Islamabad. The diplomats are also scheduled to be taken to the Nauseri and Shahkot sectors near the LoC, as well as the Nausada village, which has suffered severe damage in attacks by Indian troops.
The fresh move has been made to debunk Indian army chief’s claim and exposing India s pack of lies that it had hit terrorist camps inside Pakistan.
Earlier, the Foreign Office had extended an invitation to India’s Charge d’ Affaires Gaurav Ahluwalia to prove the claim of Indian army’s chief of hitting terrorists’ camps inside Pakistan, however, no official from the Indian High Commission arrived to visit the LoC situation.
“No official from the Indian High Commission joined the team visiting the LoC today,” Dr Faisal mentioned.
"The Indian side has not joined us in the visit to the LoC nor have they provided coordinates of the alleged ‘launchpads’," the FO spokesperson tweeted. He added that India had also failed to share the coordinates of launchpads which the Indian army claimed to have destroyed. "‘Claims’ by Indian Army Chief remain just that: ‘claims’," he added.
He revealed that the FO had been waiting for a response from Indian High Commission, and remained silent when it was asked to visit the LoC to verify to accusations against Pakistan.
Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Yao Jing himself picked up a piece of shell fired by India. At the time, Sri Lankan High Commissioner Noor-ud-Din Muhammad also stood beside him and observed the situation.
Meanwhile, Inter-Services Public Relations Director General Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor – who had last night challenged Indian officials "to take any foreign diplomat/media to ‘prove’ [its allegations] on ground" – briefed foreign diplomats and asserted that Pakistan hasn’t hidden any facts on ground.
“Wherever you want to go, we will assist you with that,” he told them, asking if India could allow international media to visit the LoC and analyse the reality.
Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor informed the diplomats that 58 civilians embraced martyrdom and 319 others sustained injuries during Indian Army’s ceasefire violations numbering to 3038 in the year 2018.
This year, Indian Army has committed 2608 ceasefire violations across the LoC, martyring 44 people and injuring 230 others, he added. (This escalation in ceasefire violations by India is continuing from 2017, when the Indian forces committed more than 1970 ceasefire violation.)
Earlier today, commenting on the absence of Indian officials: "What good [is the] Indian High Commission which can’t stand with its Army Chief?"
"Indian High Commission staff didn’t have the moral courage to accompany fellow diplomats in Pakistan to LOC," he stated in a tweet. "However, a group of foreign diplomats and media is on the way to LOC to see the truth on [the] ground."
What good Indian High Commission is which can’t stand with its Army Chief? Indian High Commission staff didn’t have the moral courage to accompany fellow diplomats in Pakistan to LOC. However, a group of foreign diplomats & media is on the way to LOC to see the truth on ground.
- DG ISPR (@OfficialDGISPR) October 22, 2019
The development came after Maj Gen Ghafoor’s challenge to the Indian army to prove its accusations.
Indian forces had used mortars and artillery to intentionally target civilians in these sectors, which resulted in the martyrdom of five civilians and one Pakistan Army soldier.
The sources said Pakistan did not want a war with India, but if war were imposed, Pakistan would fight it in the same way it did on Feb 27.
Indian forces had used mortars and artillery to intentionally target civilians in these sectors, which resulted in the martyrdom of five civilians and one Pakistan Army soldier.
Nine soldiers of the Indian army were killed and many others injured when Pakistan Army troops "effectively responded" to the latest Indian ceasefire violations, deliberately targeting civilians, in Jura, Shahkot and Nousehri sectors along the Line of Control, the director general of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) had said on Sunday.
Two bunkers of the Indian army were also destroyed in firing by Pakistani troops.
In a series of tweets, the ISPR had stated: “Targeting innocent civilians by Indian Army is an attempt to justify their false claims of targeting alleged camps. Injured civilians evacuated to District hospitals. UNMOGIP as well as domestic & foreign media have open access to AJK, a liberty not available in IOJ&K.”
Later, India’s Charge d’ Affaires Gaurav Ahluwalia was summoned to the Foreign Office by Director General (SA&SAARC) Dr Mohammad Faisal, who condemned the “unprovoked ceasefire violations by the Indian occupation forces” along the LoC in Jura, Shahkot and Nauseri sectors.
Civilian populated areas along the LoC and Working Boundary have been constantly targeted by the Indian forces with artillery fire, heavy calibre mortars, and automatic weapons. This escalation in ceasefire violations by India had been going on since 2017 when the Indian forces had committed more than 1,970 ceasefire violations, said the FO statement.
“The deliberate targeting of civilian populated areas is indeed deplorable and contrary to human dignity, international human rights and humanitarian laws,” it added.
Dr Faisal also stressed that the UN Military Observers Group must be permitted to play their mandated role, as the secretary of civil defence and disaster management said the latest casualties increased this year’s civilian death toll in AJK to 53 and the number of injured to 246.
