Reserve right to retaliate to LoC firings, India warns Pak

NEW DELHI: In astern message conveyed by the top Army brass, India on Monday told Pakistan that it reserves the right to retaliate appropriately against any incident of ceasefire violation along the LoC .

In a telephonic conversation, Lt Gen AK Bhatt, the director general of military operations (DGMO), also told his Pakistani counterpart that the Indian Army was sincere about maintaining peace on the LoC.

The DGMO made it explicitly clear that the Indian Army reserves the right to retaliate against any ceasefire violation, but “is sincere in its effort of maintaining peace and tranquillity along the Lo C provided there was reciprocity”, army spokesman Lt Col Aman Anand said.

The telephone exchange took place three hours after the Pakistani army fired mortar shells along the LoC in the Poonch and Rajouri districts, killing an Indian Army jawan and a nineyear-old girl.

He said the conversation was initiated by the Pakistani commander, Maj Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza, who raised the issues of the “targeting” of Pakistani army troops and the death off our Pakistani soldiers and one civilian in the Athmuqam Sector of Po K facing the Indian K er an Sector in K up war a District last week, Anand said.

The nearly 10-minute conversation over the hotline between the two army comm anders came amid rising-incidents of ceasefire violations by the Pakistan army and a spurt in violence in Jam mu and Kashmir.

“The Indian DGMO in response highlighted that all ceasefire violations were initiated by the Pakistan army and the Indian army only responded appropriately to them,” he said.