Pakistan summons Indian diplomat after ceasefire violations

Pakistan on Saturday summoned a senior Indian embassy official to lodge a strong protest against the ceasefire violations by Indian military along the Line of Control (LoC), a Foreign Office statement said.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), a 21-year-old woman had sustained serious injuries and was evacuated to a nearby medical facility in Azad Kashmir due to unprovoked shelling across the LoC by the Indian border forces.

“A senior diplomat from the High Commission of India was summoned to the FO today to register Pakistan’s strong protest at the ceasefire violations by Indian occupation forces along the Line of Control, resulting in serious injuries to an innocent civilian woman,” the FO statement said.

Pakistan “condemned the targeting of innocent civilians” and underscored that “senseless” Indian acts further vitiate the tense atmosphere along the LoC and pose a “threat” to regional peace and stability.

“It was also emphasised that by raising tensions along the LoC and the Working Boundary (WB), India cannot divert attention from the worsening human rights situation in the Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJ&K).”

The demarche handed over to the high commission official called upon the “Indian side to respect the 2003 Ceasefire Understanding; investigate this and other incidents of deliberate ceasefire violations and maintain peace along the LoC and the WB.”

New Delhi was also urged to let the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan to play its mandated role as per the United Nations Security Council Resolutions.

Heightened tensions

Tensions have been high between the two nuclear-armed nations over the past couple of months after India revoked Article 370 of the Indian constitution that recognised occupied Kashmir as a special territory.

Pakistan reacted sharply to the development, suspending diplomatic ties and trade relations with India. PM Imran has warned the international community in the past couple of months of India's plans to divert attention from its internal turmoil to conduct a false flag operation.

The prime minister has warned India that if it attacks Pakistan in Azad Kashmir, the country's armed forces will respond in a befitting manner and "teach India a lesson".

Indian army chief says will 'reclaim' Azad Kashmir if Indian parliament orders

Earlier in January, Indian Army Chief Gen Manoj Mukund Naravane said if his army receives orders from the Indian parliament to 'reclaim' Azad Kashmir from Pakistan, it will take action.

“If the [Indian] parliament wants [Azad] Kashmir to be a part of India, then we will take the necessary action to achieve that goal.”

“There is a parliamentary resolution that entire Jammu and Kashmir is part of India. If Parliament wants it, then, that area [AJK] also should belong to us,” he added.

This is not the first time the new Indian general has indulged in provocative posturing. In an earlier statement, Gen Naravane had said that India "reserve[d] the right to preemptively strike at sources of terror".