ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Army on Wednesday said that Indian forces’ shelling killed two children along the Line of Control (LoC).
“Indian unprovoked firing along the LoC in Rawalakot and Chirikot sectors targeting civil population” in several villages, said an army statement.
The statement said that mortar rounds hit the house of a civilian Sakhi Kayani in village Chaffar, which resulted in the death of his two children.
“Pakistan Army posts are effectively engaging Indian posts. There are reports of three Indian soldiers killed and five injured. Indian post[s] also suffered heavy damage[s]… Intermittent firing continues,” the army’s media wing Inter-Services Public Relations said in the statement.
Meanwhile, Pakistan on Wednesday summoned the Indian deputy high commissioner and strongly condemned the unprovoked ceasefire violations by the Indian forces, which killed two civilians and injured two others, the Foreign Ministry said.
A Foreign Ministry statement said the director general at the South Asian desk at the Foreign Ministry, Dr Mohammad Faisal, summoned the Indian envoy and a strong protest was lodged on the unprovoked ceasefire violations by the Indian occupation forces along the Line of Control in Kashmir on October 4.
The statement said the Indian firing in Rawalakot and Chirikot sectors resulted in the death of 2 civilians (Kashif Sakhi and Sakeena) and injuries to two others, including a woman.
“The deliberate targeting of civilians is indeed deplorable and contrary to human dignity and international human rights and humanitarian laws. The ceasefire violations by India are a threat to regional peace and security and may lead to a strategic miscalculation,” the Pakistani official told the Indian envoy.
The director general urged the Indian side to respect the 2003 ceasefire arrangement; investigate this and other incidents of ceasefire violations; instruct the Indian forces to respect the ceasefire in letter and spirit and maintain peace on the LoC.
He urged that the Indian side should permit the UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan to play its mandated role as per the UN Security Council resolutions, the statement said.
According to the ministry’s updates during the past two weeks, Indian forces increasingly targeted civilian areas on the Pakistani side, resulting in the deaths of 13 civilians, including six women, and injuries to 39 others, which the director general strongly condemned.
“Despite calls for restraint, India continues to indulge in ceasefire violations,” the Pakistani official said.
Giving a breakup of the cross-border shelling and casualties, the Foreign Ministry said that in 2017 to date, Indian forces have carried out more than 900 ceasefire violations along the Line of Control and the Working Boundary, resulting in the deaths of 45 innocent civilians and injuries to 155 others, as compared to 382 ceasefire violations in 2016.
Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi strongly condemned the unprovoked firing by Indian security forces at Rawalakot and Chirikot sectors on Wednesday, the PM’s Office said. The prime minister expressed deepest condolences and sympathies with the bereaved families and prayed to Almighty Allah to grant them courage to bear this irreparable loss. He lauded the role of the Pakistani security forces for giving a befitting response to the enemy’s guns.
Published in Daily Times, October 5th 2017.
