India to hold flag meeting with Pakistan on Jan 14

New Delhi, Jan 13: India and Pakistan have agreed to hold a brigadier-level flag meeting tomorrow in order to defuse the tension along the Line of Control (LoC). The flag meeting is expected to start around 1 p.m. in the Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir.

There has been heavy firing across the LoC in the last few days. Both sides have accused each other of violating the ceasefire that came into effect nearly ten years ago. Delhi expressed outrage after a Border Action Team of the Pakistani Army stealthily entered Indian territory, taking advantage of the fog in the Mendhar sector, and killed two jawans of the 13 Rajputana Rifles on Jan 8.

The bodies of Lance Naik Hemraj and Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh were found to be badly mutilated. The intruders were so inhumane, they beheaded Hemraj before retreating. Due to the decapitation, the bereaved family is refusing to accept that he is dead. "I'm not ready to believe the person who got killed is Hemraj. I haven't seen the head, why should I believe?" his wife Dharmvati said.

She, Hemraj's mother Meena Devi, other relatives and many of his fellow villagers observed an indefinite fast at Shernagar, the 32-year-old jawan's native place, in Uttar Pradesh.

Reports say soldiers belonging to the seniormost rifle regiment of the Army are also upset over the brutality inflicted on their deceased collegues. Nearly a 1000 jawans have been on a hunger strike for the last few days.

Islamabad had earlier alleged that Indian troops violated the ceasefire on Jan 6. According to the Pakistani military, a raid on the Sawan Patra checkpost claimed one life. However, the Army stated that none of its personnel crossed the border.

Islamabad has called for an enquiry by the United Nations Military Observers Group for India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) into the matter but Delhi stressed that there is no need for such a probe as all outstanding issues between the two neighbours can be resolved under the Shimla Agreement.

OneIndia News