ISLAMABAD: Pakistan summoned Indian Charge d'Affaires Gaurav Ahluwalia to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and registered a strong protest over the ceasefire violations by the Indian occupation forces along the Line of Control (LoC) on 28th Sep, the Foreign Office said.
Due to indiscriminate and unprovoked firing by the Indian occupation forces in Tandar Sector of the LoC, it stated that 15-year-old, Waleed son of Muhammad Fareed embraced martyrdom.
It further stated that 25-year-old Misba Begum, 45-year-old Zaheer Abbas, 80-year-old Qasim Sain and 26-year-old Suleman, residents of Sona valley and Kartan village, sustained serious injuries.
It added that the Indian occupation forces along the LoC and the working boundary (WB) had been continuously targeting civilian-populated areas with artillery fire, heavy-caliber mortars, and automatic weapons.
This year, India has committed 2,387 ceasefire violations to date, resulting in 19 martyrdoms and serious injuries to 191 innocent civilians, it added.
Condemning the deplorable targeting of innocent civilians by the Indian occupation forces, it was underscored that such senseless acts are in clear violation of the 2003 Ceasefire Understanding, and are also against all established humanitarian norms and professional military conduct.
"These egregious violations of international law reflect consistent Indian attempts to escalate the situation along the LoC and are a threat to regional peace and security."
"By raising tensions along the LoC and the WB, India cannot divert attention from the grave human rights situation in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK)," the Foreign Office further stated.
It added that Indian side was called upon to respect the 2003 Ceasefire Understanding, investigate this and other such incidents of deliberate ceasefire violations and maintain peace along the LoC and the WB.
The Indian side was also urged to allow 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, it added.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020