Indian diplomat summoned over ceasefire violations

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs Tuesday summoned a senior Indian diplomat to register Pakistan’s strong protest over the ceasefire violations by the Indian occupation forces along the Line of Control (LoC) on Tuesday, causing serious injuries to an innocent civilian. Due to indiscriminate and unprovoked firing by the Indian occupation forces in Bagsar Sector of the LoC, Muhammad Afzal, 45, a resident of Mehtika, sustained critical injuries, Foreign Office said in a statement. 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. This year, India has committed 2,659 ceasefire violations to date, resulting in 20 shahadats and serious injuries to 202 innocent civilians, it added.

Condemning the deplorable targeting of innocent civilians by the Indian occupation forces, it was underscored that such senseless acts were in clear violation of the 2003 Ceasefire Understanding, and were 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,” the statement said.

It was added that by raising tensions along the LoC and the WB, India could not divert attention from the grave human rights situation in the Indian Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IOJ&K).

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.

Meanwhile, categorically rejecting the Indian defence minister’s unwarranted comments on Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), Pakistan Tuesday said India had no locus standi whatsoever on the issue historical, legal, or moral.

“Gratuitous repetition of false claims by the RSS-BJP leaders, one after the other, for political point-scoring can neither change facts nor can it draw attention away from the reprehensible human rights violations being perpetrated against the Kashmiri people by the occupation forces in the IOJ&K, Foreign Office said in a statement issued here.

“Pakistan’s principled position on the Jammu & Kashmir dispute remains firmly anchored in the relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions,” it added.

“Administrative, political and economic reforms are a long-standing demand of the people of Gilgit-Baltistan. The envisaged provisional reforms reflect the aspirations of the indigenous populace of Gilgit-Baltistan,” the statement remarked.

Pakistan called upon India to immediately end its illegal and forcible occupation of parts of Jammu & Kashmir and comply with its international obligations by allowing Kashmiris to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination through a free and impartial plebiscite under the auspices of the United Nations, it added.