India, Pak agree on ceasefire along LoC

Behind-the-scenes parleys between senior security officials lead to outcome

NEW DELHI: The Indian and Pakistani armies announced on Thursday that they had begun strictly adhering to a ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir from the midnight of February 24 – the apparent outcome of behind the scenes contacts between senior security officials of the two countries.

A joint statement issued by the two armies said the move followed a discussion between India’s Director General of Military Operations (DGMO), Lt Gen Paramjit Singh Sangha, and his Pakistani counterpart, Maj Gen Nauman Zakaria, over their established telephone hotline. People familiar with developments said on condition of anonymity that the DGMOs spoke on February 22.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s key advisor on security affairs, Moeed Yusuf, said in an audio statement issued in Islamabad that the agreement on the ceasefire is the outcome of “behind the scenes” contacts and “more roads will open” in future.

The move comes at a time when the Indian military is largely focused on the standoff with China in Ladakh sector of the Line of Actual Control (LAC), which emerged in the open in

May last year, though there has been no let-up in counter-terrorism operations in Jammu and Kashmir.

During their discussion on the hotline, the two DGMOs “reviewed the situation along the Line of Control and all other sectors in a free, frank and cordial atmosphere”, the joint statement said.

“Both sides agreed for strict observance of all agreements, understandings and cease firing along the Line of Control and all other sectors with effect from midnight 24/25 Feb 2021,” the

statement added.

India and Pakistan had agreed to a ceasefire on the LoC in November 2003. Though the truce largely held over the years, it came under strain after bilateral relations hit a low following the Pulwama suicide attack in February 2019 and India’s decision to scrap Jammu and Kashmir’s special status in August 2019, and troops from the two sides regularly traded fire.

The DGMOs also “agreed to address each other’s core issues and concerns which have pro

pensity to disturb peace and lead to violence” in the interest of “achieving mutually beneficial and sustainable peace along the borders”.

The two sides further said that existing mechanisms of hotline contact and border flag meetings will be used to “resolve any unforeseen situation or misunderstanding”.

People familiar with developments said on condition of anonymity that the established convention of weekly contacts between officials of the Directorate General of Military Operations of the two countries had continued in recent months despite periodic flare-ups along the LoC. The DGMOs speak on the hotline when there is a specific request from either side, the people added.

The people said that while the Indian side had agreed on the ceasefire, there was no question of lowering the guard when it comes to operations to counter infiltration along the LoC or terrorism within Jammu and Kashmir. There will also be no reduction of forces along the LoC and troops will remain prepared to deal with all contingencies, the people said.

“The main idea is to have peace along the LoC so that the local population doesn’t suffer,” said one of the people cited above.

The people expressed cautious optimism about the development but said the cross-border infiltration of terrorists and attacks by Pakistan-based terror groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba continued to be key concerns.

Moeed Yusuf, who holds the post of special assistant to the Pakistan premier on national security and strategic policy planning, said in his audio statement that the ceasefire agreement was a “very solid and positive” development that should be welcomed.

“So when people ask what is the [Pakistan] government’s policy and what is it doing on Kashmir, and nothing is happening, they should realise that such things are done behind the scenes. Lots of effort is being made,” Yusuf said, speaking in Urdu.

“This is our success and the success of diplomacy and, God willing, more roads will open in the future,” he added.

Yusuf appeared to be alluding to his conversations with Doval when he spoke of things being done “behind the scenes”. He added: “Do you think that, without effort and without pressure, this thing happened that India was not agreeing to for so many months and years?”

He contended that the joint statement was a “victory for Pakistan” as India was not agreeing to a ceasefire. Pakistan, he said, was “repeatedly saying that we want peace and we want that there should be a ceasefire at the LoC” so that innocent civilians aren’t killed.

“Today’s development is very solid and positive and it should be welcomed and it is the success of our policy that is being seen in this development,” Yusuf said. He added: “The problem of Kashmir that we want to resolve, and the way we want to resolve it, it will happen.”

On Wednesday, the Indian Army chief, Gen MM Naravane, had said India wants peace and tranquillity along all its borders, be it the LAC, LoC or the frontier with Myanmar. “With our continuous engagement with Pakistan, we will be able to prevail over them (for border peace)...as unsettled borders help no one,” he told a virtual seminar.