India and Pakistan agree on ceasefire
DELHI COOL AS KHAN SEEKS KASHMIR TALKS
PAKISTAN prime minister Imran Khan last Saturday (27) welcomed the ceasefire agreement with India, but said the onus of creating an “enabling environment” for further progress in bilateral ties rests with New Delhi.
Both countries pledged last Thursday (25) to end all firing along the Kashmir frontier, according to a joint statement from their militaries, after months of violence between the neighbours. The two nations regularly exchange artillery and machinegun fire along the ceasefire line known as the Line of Control (LoC) that has separated the countries for decades.
“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,” according to the statement.
The announcement follows months of clashes with each accusing the other of being responsible for thousands of ceasefire violations in the past year alone.
Khan said Pakistan was ready to move forward to resolve “all outstanding issues” with India through dialogue.
“I welcome restoration of the ceasefire along the LoC. The onus of creating an enabling environment for further progress rests with India. India must take necessary steps to meet the long-standing demand & right of the Kashmiri people to self determination according to UNSC resolutions,” Khan tweeted.
“We have always stood for peace & remain ready to move forward to resolve all outstanding issues through dialogue.”
Khan’s tweets last Saturday came on the second anniversary of Pakistan’s retaliatory airstrikes after the Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter jets crossed the LoC and targeted a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror training camp at Balakot on February 26, 2019.
Khan said Pakistan demonstrated to the world its “responsible behaviour” by returning the captured Indian pilot.
India said “talks and terror” cannot go together and asked Islamabad to take “demonstrable steps” against terror groups which it said launched attacks on India.
“On relations with Pakistan, as we have said earlier, India desires normal neighbourly relations with Pakistan. We have always maintained that we are committed to addressing issues, if any, in a peaceful and bilateral manner,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said in New Delhi.
India is committed to resolving all issues bilaterally in a peaceful manner, New Delhi said.
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.
Both countries 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.
India and Pakistan both claim large portions of the Himalayan region. New Delhi regularly accuses Pakistan of supporting the insurgents, but Islamabad denies the allegations.
Indian Kashmir has been under a heavy security blanket since the government imposed direct rule in August 2019, sparking a fierce rebuke from Islamabad.
Prime minister Narendra Modi’s government promised the move would bring peace and prosperity to Indian Kashmir.
Pakistan, however, has alleged it is a violation of the rights of Kashmiri people.