Pakistan desperate to disrupt peace in Kashmir, says army officer

Jammu, July 29 : As Indian and Pakistani troops traded fire in Kashmir for the second time in three days, Lieutenant General RK Karwal, General Officer in Commanding, 16 Corps, today said this was an attempt by Pakistan to disrupt the peace process between the two countries.

Speaking to reporters here, Lt. General Karwal accused the Pakistani Army of resorting to desperate unprovoked violations of the November 2003 ceasefire.

"What has happened is that the Pakistan Army is a bit desperate. There are large number of training camps and a large number of terrorists waiting and when they find that their attempts to infiltrate are not successful, they resort to unprovoked firing," said Lt. General Karwal.

"We have had cases where they have resorted to unprovoked ceasefire violation. They have happily blamed it upon us. If at all, this is Pakistan's old tactics of firing across the LoC which facilitates infiltration of terrorists on this side of the Line of Control," added Lt. General Karwal.

He further said that with elections just round the corner, attempts are being made to destabilize the Kashmir region.

According to defence sources, the body of sepoy Mahesh from the Rajput Regiment was found in a ditch.

Earlier, India has sought a flag meeting with Pakistan a day after skirmishes at the LoC dividing the two countries resulted in the reported deaths of one Indian soldier and four Pakistani soldiers.

Islamabad is yet to agree to participate in the flag meeting in Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara-Nowgam Sector.

Monday's skirmish is the sixth ceasefire violation that has taken place at the LoC in the past three weeks after Islamabad gave an assurance that it was committed to maintaining the ceasefire.

On May 20, India and Pakistan resumed their first composite dialogue to maintain peace on the LoC after the new government assumed office in Islamabad.

Pakistani soldiers crossed the LoC in Kaiyan Bowl in the Nowgam Sector in Baramulla District and threatened an Indian surveillance detachment of five soldiers, keeping a watch in the area, at around 3.30 pm.

The Pakistani soldiers demanded that the Indian observation post be vacated. he incident comes a week after Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon said the peace process between the two countries is "under stress".

ANI