Ceasefire ease

We finally have at least a small spot of good news from New Delhi and Islamabad. The DGMOs on both sides of the border, after talks over the hotline set up in 1987, have agreed to curb ceasefire violations across the LoC to a maximum possible level. This is extremely good news, given the heightened ceasefire violations seen in the recent past, and as DG ISPR Major General Babar Iftikhar put it, with an indefinite heightening of firing across the LoC since 2014.

The ceasefire accord restricting acts of violence across the LoC, the working boundary, was agreed upon in 2003. However, India has continued to violate the accord and fire across the Line of Control, in some cases bringing retaliation from Pakistan to defend its own troops and civilians. General Babar said that the largest number of ceasefire violations had been spotted in 2019 and the highest number of casualties took place in 2018. During the four years since 2018, there has been a loss of over 300 civilian lives in Pakistan, with the victims including women and children.

The ceasefire agreement, which will follow the accord reached in 2003, is obviously good news for both countries. The reasons why it has come about are according to some analysts being linked to the pressure the Indian government faces as a protest by farmers joined by other groups continues in the north of India. There had also been talk of diplomacy behind the doors led by the PM's Special Assistant Moeed Yousuf speaking to senior Indian defence officers. However, Yousuf has denied this and said the DGMOs themselves had reached the decision. Whatever the reasons, the outcome is welcome. We badly needed to see a decline in tensions. Washington has welcomed the step and has also called upon both countries to move towards resolving the Kashmir dispute through bilateral dialogue. We hope that the current ceasefire agreement and the renewal of the 2003 accord would lead to more steps to normalise ties between India and Pakistan. For the region, such a resolution is vital so that tension can be decreased between the two nuclear powers and the lives of people living on either side of the Line of Control are protected. We also need to see a more normal diplomatic approach being adopted between both countries, which have recently seen only hostility from the Indian side of the border, including refusing to release vaccines to Pakistan, and cutting off visas, even for prominent performers or sports people. This is obviously unfortunate, and we desperately need a step-by-step return to some sense of normalcy. Of course, none of this should mean that Pakistan's stand for Kashmiri freedom is in any way affected.