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