Pak summons India's Deputy High Commissioner over alleged 'unprovoked firing'

Islamabad, Feb 5: Pakistan on Monday summoned India's Deputy High Commissioner J P Singh to condemn the alleged "unprovoked firing" by Indian troops across the Line of Control which resulted in the death of two people.

Director General (South Asia and SAARC) Mohammad Faisal summoned Singh and "condemned the unprovoked ceasefire violations" by Indian forces, the Foreign Office said. In a statement, it said that firing on February 4 in Nezapir, Nikial and Karela sectors killed two civilians, including 18-year-old Rafaqat Ali and 25-year-old Tasleem Begum, and injured seven others including two children. Faisal claimed that the Indian forces along the LoC and the Working boundary are continuously targeting the civilian populated areas with heavy mortars and automatic weapons.

In 2018, the Indian forces have carried out more than 190 ceasefire violations along the Line of Control and the Working Boundary, resulting in the deaths of 13 civilians, it said. "This unprecedented escalation in ceasefire violations by India is continuing from the year 2017 when the Indian forces committed 1970 ceasefire violations," he claimed.

Faisal said the deliberate targeting of civilian populated areas is indeed deplorable and against the human dignity, international human rights and humanitarian laws. The repeated ceasefire violations by India "are a threat to regional peace and security and may lead to a strategic miscalculation," he asserted.

Faisal urged the Indian side to respect the 2003 ceasefire arrangement and investigate the repeated incidents of ceasefire violations, the statement said. He also urged the Indian side to allow the UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) to play its mandated role as per the UN Security Council resolutions.

India maintains that UNMOGIP has outlived its utility and is irrelevant after the Simla Agreement and the consequent establishment of the Line of Control. In January, the Foreign Office summoned India's deputy high commissioner on January 15, 18, 19, 20 and 21.

PTI