Pak summons Indian diplomat over LoC ceasefire violations, lodges protest

PTI, Feb 15, 2020, 2:25 PM IST

Islamabad: Pakistan on Saturday summoned a senior diplomat from the High Commission of India and lodged a strong protest over the alleged ceasefire violations along the LoC.

The Foreign Office said that the Indian security forces fired in Nezapir and Rakhchikri sectors of the Line of Control (LoC) on February 14.

The “indiscriminate and unprovoked firing” caused serious injuries to a 13-year-old girl in Fatehpur village, it said.

The FO alleged that the Indian forces along the LoC and Working Boundary have continuously been targeting civilian populated areas with artillery fire, heavy-caliber mortars and automatic weapons which still continues.

“The unprecedented escalation in ceasefire violations by India is continuing from the year 2017 when the Indian forces committed 1970 ceasefire violations. This year India has committed 287 ceasefire violations to date,” it alleged, adding that they are a threat to the regional peace and security, and may lead to a strategic miscalculation.

Pakistan urged the Indian side to instruct the Indian forces to respect the ceasefire, in letter and spirit; and maintain peace on the LoC and the Working Boundary.

The FO said India should permit the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) to play its mandated role as per the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolutions.

India maintains that the UNMOGIP, established in January 1949, has outlived its utility and is irrelevant after the Simla Agreement and the consequent establishment of the LoC.