News Desk |
On Wednesday, Foreign Office Spokesperson and Director General SA & SAARC, Dr. Mohammad Faisal summoned the Indian Deputy High Commissioner, Gaurav Ahluwalia to launch a protest over the “unprovoked ceasefire violations” committed by the Indian forces along the Line of Control (LoC).
FO Spokesperson Dr. Muhammad Faisal stressed that the Indian forces are “continuously targeting” areas that are densely populated with civilians with “heavy weapons” alongside the Line of Control and the Working Boundary. The spokesperson warned that these unprovoked ceasefire violations conducted by India are a “threat to regional peace and security and may lead to a strategic miscalculation”.
The statement issued by the Foreign Office noted, “The Indian forces along the Line of Control and the Working boundary are continuously targeting civilian populated areas with heavy weapons. This unprecedented escalation in ceasefire violations by India is continuing from the year 2017 when the Indian forces committed 1970 ceasefire violations.”
The deliberate targeting of civilian populated areas is indeed deplorable and contrary to human dignity, international human rights, and humanitarian laws.
On 2nd May 2019, a 15-year old boy Tahir Hafeez was martyred due to Indian ceasefire violations in the Rakhchikri Sector alongside the Line of Control (LoC), while his 9-year old sister Tahira was gravely injured. Later on 5th May, two more horrifying incidents occurred in the Hotspring and Kotkotera Sectors along the Line of Control, where Indian ceasefire violations martyred Nasreen Bibi and a 12-year old child, Muhammad Zahid. A woman named Sonia Bibi was critically injured.
The Foreign Office statement observed, “The deliberate targeting of civilian populated areas is indeed deplorable and contrary to human dignity, international human rights, and humanitarian laws.” Dr. Muhammad Faisal urged India to respect the 2003 Ceasefire arrangement, carry out an investigation of these and other incidents of ceasefire violations that have claimed the lives of innocent civilians.
Dr. Faisal further instructed the Indian forces to respect the ceasefire agreement signed between the two neighbors, “in letter and spirit”, and work towards maintaining peace on the Line of Control and the Working Boundary. The Foreign Office Spokesperson also stated Islamabad’s demand that New Delhi must allow the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) to play its mandated role as per the UN Security Council resolutions.
Read more: Line of Control crisis: Two women killed by Indian firing
The official statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned, “The ceasefire violations by India are a threat to regional peace and security and may lead to a strategic miscalculation.”