ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Monday summoned a senior Indian diplomat to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to register a strong protest over ceasefire violations by the Indian occupation forces along the Line of Control (LoC), resulting in serious injuries to two innocent civilians.

According to a statement of the Foreign Office, the Indian diplomat was summoned on the ceasefire violation on 13th December 2020 (Sunday), adding that due to the indiscriminate and unprovoked firing by the Indian occupation forces in Chirikot Sector of the LoC, a 19-year-old Nasreen Akhtar, daughter of Noor Din, resident of Kakota village, and Shoukat, son of Makhan Din, resident of Chaffer village, sustained serious injuries.

The Indian occupation forces along the LoC and the Working Boundary (WB) have been continuously targeting civilian-populated areas with artillery fire, heavy-caliber mortars and automatic weapons, the statement added.

This year, India has committed 2,970 ceasefire violations to date, resulting in 27 shahadats and serious injuries to 249 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. It was added that 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 & Kashmir (IIOJK)," the statement added.

The 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