ISLAMABAD, October 4: : Pakistan on Wednesday summoned the Indian Deputy High Commissioner and strongly condemned the unprovoked ceasefire violations by the Indian forces, which killed two civilians and injured 2 others, the Foreign Ministry said.
A Foreign Ministry statement said the Director General at the South Asian desk at the foreign minister Dr. Mohammad Faisal summoned the Indian envoy and a strong protest was lodged on the unprovoked ceasefire violations by the Indian occupation forces along the Line of Control in Kashmir on October 4.
The statement said the Indian firing in Rawalakot/Chirikot Sector resulted in the death of 2 civilians (20 years old Kashif Sakhi and 17 years old Sakeena Begum and injuries to 2 others, including a woman.
“The deliberate targeting of civilians is indeed deplorable and contrary to human dignity and 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 Pakistani official told the Indian envoy.
The Director General urged the Indian side to respect the 2003 Ceasefire arrangement; investigate this and other incidents of ceasefire violations; instruct the Indian forces to respect the ceasefire, in letter and spirit and maintain peace on the LoC.
He urged that the Indian side should permit UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan to play its mandated role as per the UN Security Council resolutions, the statement said.
According to the ministry’s updates during the past two weeks, Indian forces have increasingly targeted civilian areas on the Pakistani side, resulting in the deaths of 13 civilians, including 6 women, and injuries to 39 others, which the Director General strongly condemned.
“Despite calls for restraint, India continues to indulge in ceasefire violations,” the Pakistani official said.
Giving a breakup of the cross-border shelling and casualties, the foreign ministry said in 2017 to date, Indian forces have carried out more than 900 ceasefire violations along the Line of Control and the Working Boundary, resulting in the deaths of 45 innocent civilians and injuries to 155, as compared to 382 ceasefire violations in 2016.
Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has strongly condemned the unprovoked firing by Indian security forces at Rawalakot and Chirri Kot sectors across LoC on Wednesday, resulting in martyrdom of two innocent children, the PM office said.
The Prime Minister expressed deepest condolences and sympathies with the bereaved families and prayed to Almighty Allah to grant them courage to bear this irreparable loss.
He lauded the role of Pakistan security forces for befitting response in silencing the enemy’s guns.-DNA
