LoC ceasefire enters fourth year

ISLAMABAD: The ceasefire across the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir has entered its fourth year since Pakistan and India both are benefitting from it.

Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhary, former foreign secretary who also served as ambassador to the US, is of the view that Indian Prime Minister Modi has been misguiding the world opinion by talking of so-called tranquility and peace in occupied Kashmir.

Chaudhry said that for this purpose, Modi would like to maintain calm on the LoC so that he could plead that the situation is normal in the occupied area and LoC.

Talking to The News, he said that India had suggested the ceasefire in the wake of escalation of tension between Chinese and Indian troops on the so-called Line of Actual Control (LAC) way back in 2020 winter.

He said Indians were frightened at the concept of “fighting on two fronts†simultaneously. Pakistan was willing to have peace on the LoC as on the both sides Muslim population was suffering, besides loss of personnel, he said.

Chaudhary reminded that Pakistan had always pleaded for peace and settlement of the disputes through peaceful means.

The understanding on a ceasefire between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) evolved in February 2021 against the backdrop of rising tension between the two countries.

The observers are of the view that ongoing status quo has benefited both Pakistan and India, particularly the border population along the LoC.

With almost non-existent diplomatic engagement between Pakistan and India, any semblance of peace on the LoC was source of satisfaction for the two.

Nonetheless, the silence on the border does not imply that India has stopped brutalizing the people in the occupied areas or that there is no risk of escalation between the two militaries in the future.