India and Pakistan pledge to end skirmishes along Kashmir border

ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI: In a significant development, Pakistan and India agreed to observe a ceasefire along the Line of Control (LOC) and all other sectors ater talks between the senior military officials through a hotline on Thursday.

The agreement was reached between the two countries ater director generals of military operations of India and Pakistan held discussions over the established mechanism of hotline contact, said a statement issued by the Inter-services Public Relations (ISPR)

It said the two sides reviewed the situation along LOC and all other sectors in a free, frank and cordial atmosphere.

The two sides’ militaries have now made vocal commitments, with senior generals reaching an understanding over a hotline on Wednesday, a joint statement said.

“Both sides agreed for strict observance of all agreements, understandings and cease firing” along the frontier, it said. “Existing mechanisms of hotline contact and border flag meetings will be utilised to resolve any unforeseen situation or misunderstanding.”

The statement added that in the interest of achieving mutually beneficial and sustainable peace, the two directors general of military operations agreed to address each other’s core issues and concerns which have the propensity to disturb peace and lead to violence.

“Both sides agreed for strict observance of all agreements, understandings and cease firing along the LOC and all other sectors, with effect from midnight from February 24/25 midnight,” the statement said.

It further noted that both sides reiterated that existing, mechanisms of hotline contact and border flag meetings will be utilised to resolve any unforeseen situation or misunderstanding.

The development is seen as a thaw ater years of tensions between the two neighbours.

It is not clear if the latest move will lead to further de-escalation in tensions. Both Prime Minister Imran Khan and Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa recently offered India to resolve all issues through dialogue.

On Wednesday, Indian Army Chief General MM Naravane has expressed confidence that with continued engagement with Pakistan, there could be some sort of an understanding because unsetled borders and violence on the borders help no one.

“We always want peace and tranquility in our border areas, whether it be the western front or the northern front and the Line of Actual Control. Or whether it is on the Indo-myanmar border, we are always looking for peace and tranquility and our role is to ensure that so as the rest of the nation can develop,” he said.

However, Indian Army said on Thursday that there is no proposal of thinning of troops along Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.

The Army also said that the situation along the northern borders has no bearing on Line of Control/western Front.

The announcement follows months of clashes with each accusing the other of being responsible for thousands of ceasefire violations in the past year alone.

According to the Pakistan military, approximately 1.7 million civilians live along the LOC and increasingly rely on hundreds of bunkers to shelter during frequent skirmishes.

The nations agreed in 2003 to a ceasefire along the LOC, which has prevented another full-blown war from erupting but has largely failed to quell the skirmishes.

Meanwhile, Indian officials has said that the Srinagar-leh highway will be opened for regulated traffic from Feb.28.

Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, PK Pole on Wednesday convened a meeting of officers to review status of the Srinagar-sonamargGumri (SSG) road scheduled to be thrown open for civilian traffic from Feb.28. The Lt

Governor of Ladakh UT is slated to flag off traffic movement then.

On the occasion, BRO’S CE briefed Pole about the status of road clearance on National Highway-1, and though the road stands cleared for one way traffic, but, in view of weather advisory, it be opened for civilian traffic from February 28.

The meeting was informed that several advisories need to be issued in view of slippery road conditions and avalanche warnings including allowing plying of vehicles with chains and one way traffic at Zojilla pass to avoid accidents.

Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday recorded 108 new Covid cases and 59 discharges ater recovery from different hospitals while no death was reported from anywhere during the last 24 hours.

An official bulletin said of the new cases, 31 were from the Jammu division and 77 from the Kashmir division.

So far, 126,201 people have been infected with coronavirus in J&K out of which 123,426 have recovered while 1,955 have succumbed.

The number of active cases is 820 out of which 193 are from the Jammu division and 627 from the Kashmir division.