Unprovoked Indian firing at LoC

It is a known fact that the Indian government has failed to protect its minorities while the situation in the Indian-occupied Kashmir is becoming graver day by day as the current events show. More than 250 people have been gunned down by Indian forces in the held Valley, hundreds have lost their eyes, 20,000 injured and thousands of more have been incarcerated.

At the same time, to divert the world’s attention from held Kashmir, the Indian Army is violating the ceasefire at the LoC again and again. It is targeting the civilian population residing along the Line of Control. 

According to reports, more than 320 ceasefire violations have been committed by Indian troops since November last year. Minister for Defence Khurram Dastgir Khan recently informed the National Assembly that 66 civilians embraced martyrdom and 228 were injured due to unprovoked firing by Indian forces since January 2013. He said while the Indian army is deliberately targeting civilians along the LoC, the Pakistan Army is responding in a befitting manner and is taking all necessary safeguards to protect the life and property of citizens.

Understandably, the objective of the Indian firing is to divert the attention of the world community from the gross human rights violations committed by Indian forces in Occupied Kashmir, he added.

On the other hand, DG Disaster Management Authority (DMA) informed the National Assembly's Standing Committee on Kashmir Affairs that about 425,000 civilians residing in areas around the LoC were under threat because of Indian firing. Incidences of firing have so far caused scores of deaths while 3,000 people have been injured and 3,300 houses have been damaged as a result, he said.

Pakistan, in a show of great restraint and maturity, has been reacting to the violations in a responsible manner, ensuring that the volatile situation on the LoC does not spiral out of control. It has repeatedly told India that deliberate targeting of civilians is indeed deplorable and contrary to human dignity and international human rights and humanitarian laws. Islamabad is also urging the Indian side to respect the 2003 ceasefire arrangement, investigate the incidents of ceasefire violations and instruct the Indian forces to respect the ceasefire in letter and spirit and maintain peace along the LoC. Also, Pakistan wants the Indian side to allow the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) to play its mandated role as per the UN Security Council resolutions. But it all falls on deaf ears.

As the held Kashmir burns, the Indian approach to the Kashmir issue, which was to ride out the storm, has failed and the firefighting has gotten extremely lousy and ineffective. There is a total lack of strategy to get out of the volatile situation. 

The Indians must realise that the Kashmir issue has to be resolved as per the UN resolutions. It cannot be put on the backburner and defended through shelling and indiscriminate firing by the Indian troops across the LoC. The repeated calls by the Pakistan government to stop the LoC violations have been ignored. By failing to end the violence on the LoC, India is abdicating its responsibility and creating more hostility in bilateral relationship with Pakistan. The Kashmir issue cannot be taken out of the India-Pakistan equation unless the issue is amicably sorted out.