‘Pak hiring civilians to spy on our posts’

NEWDELHI: India told Pakistan on Monday the support provided by its army to infiltrators was “unacceptable” and the Indian side will continue its “retaliatory measures” along the LoC against “unabated support” given to terrorists seeking to infiltrate into Jammu and Kashmir .

The Pakistani director general of military operations (DGMO) Major General Sahir Shamshad Mirza dialled his Indian counterpart Lieutenant General AK Bhatt, alleging that the Indian Army had carried out unprovoked firing and targeted civilians along the de facto border between the two nations.

During the unscheduled hotline interaction after lunch, Lieutenant General Bhatt also told Mirza that the neighbouring army had hired civilians to snoop on India’s forward post and it was also “providing guides” to terrorists to help them cross the LoC. He said the Pakistani army had granted permission to civilians to settle in the vicinity of their (Pakistani) posts.

“These civilians have repeatedly been used to gain information on our locations and providing guides to terrorists while crossing the LoC,” he told Mirza. The DGMOs or their representatives discuss LoC issues every Tuesday.

Terrorists usually make desperate attempts to sneak into the border state ahead of the onset of winter that shuts down several infiltration routes in the mountains. “The DGMO further clarified that the Indian Army maintains impeccable standards of professionalism and does not target civilians,” an army release said.