Indian diplomat summoned over ceasefire violations

islamabad — A senior Indian diplomat was summoned on Wednesday at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to register Pakistan’s strong protest over the ceasefire violations by the Indian forces along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Nikial sector on May 19, resulting in serious injuries to three civilians.

Due to indiscriminate firing by Indian forces, Karam Din, 18 and Mohammed Rizwan, 20 of Ooli village and Hafiz Ilyas, 30, a resident of Khanni village, sustained serious injuries.

The diplomat was told that “such senseless acts are in clear violation of the 2003 ceasefire understanding and are also against all established humanitarian norms and professional military conduct”.

“These egregious violations of international law reflect consistent Indian attempts to escalate the situation along the LoC and are a threat to regional peace and security,” the Foreign Office said in a statement here.

It was added that by raising tensions along the LoC and the Working Boundary, India could not divert attention from the grave human rights situation in the Indian administered Jammu and Kashmir.

The Indian side was called upon to respect the 2003 ceasefire understanding, investigate this and other such incidents of deliberate ceasefire violations and maintain peace along the LoC and the WB.

“The Indian side was also urged to allow the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) to play its mandated role as per the United Nations Security Council resolutions,” the statement added. — APP