Four soldiers martyred in Indian firing

RAWALPINDI: Four Pakistan Army soldiers were martyred in unprovoked Indian firing in the Jandrot area of Kotli Sector along the Line of Control (LoC), the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Monday.

The latest clash between the two nuclear neighbours took place amid heated challenges and threats of an armed conflict. The Pakistani troops were busy maintaining line communication when they were caught in heavy mortar fire.

Three Indian soldiers were killed in retaliatory fire, while a few were injured and several posts destroyed, the ISPR said. Shortly after the martyrdom of four troops, the Foreign Office summoned Indian Deputy High Commissioner JP Singh and condemned unprovoked ceasefire violations by their security forces.

Director General (South Asia and Saarc) Dr Mohammad Faisal told JP Singh that deliberate targeting of civilian populated areas and troops carrying out maintenance was indeed deplorable and contrary to human dignity, international human rights and humanitarian laws. "The ceasefire violations by India are a threat to regional peace and security and may lead to a strategic miscalculation," the Indian high commissioner was told.

The Indian envoy was conveyed that the security forces of Pakistan had full capability to pay India in their own coin. Dr Faisal said the Indian forces had continued to indulge in ceasefire violations despite repeated calls for restraint by Islamabad.

"Despite calls for restraint, India continues to indulge in ceasefire violations. In 2018, the Indian forces carried out more than 100 ceasefire violations," he said. The Indian military claimed that the Pakistani border forces fired first and denied casualties on their side. On another section of the Line of Control, India on Monday claimed killing five members of a pro-Pakistan militant group trying to slip into the held Kashmir.

However, a Pakistan military source, who declined to be identified, denied that any militants had been killed trying to cross from the Pakistani side to the Indian side. The Pakistan military said 52 civilians were killed and 254 wounded by Indian shelling in the region last year, more than in all of the previous 14 years combined.

In New Delhi, Indian Army Chief Gen Rawat cautioned Pakistan against supporting terror groups and abetting infiltration. “We will not allow anti-India activities to succeed in Jammu and Kashmir. We will not let these anti-national elements succeed at any cost. If we are forced, we may escalate our military action and carry out [the] ‘other action’,” he said at the Army Day parade held in Delhi Cantonment.

He claimed the Pakistan Army was constantly trying to push terrorists into India and the Indian Army was using its might to “teach them a lesson”. Meanwhile, taking a strong note of remarks by Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat about China and the Donglong border area, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Monday said the negative remarks by a senior Indian official were against the consensus reached between the heads of the state of the two countries and it could not help preserve tranquility and peace in the border areas.

Responding to a question during a press briefing here, he asked the Indian military to learn lessons, abide by the historical conventions between the two countries and earnestly uphold peace and tranquility in the border area.