Pakistan on Thursday summoned India’s Deputy High Commissioner to its Foreign Office and condemned the ceasefire violations that had allegedly caused the death of two civilians.
On Wednesday night, the Pakistani military released a video, claiming that it had destroyed an Indian post in retaliation and killed five Indian soldiers.
“The Director-General, South Asia & SAARC, summoned the Indian Deputy High Commissioner and condemned the unprovoked ceasefire violations by the Indian occupation forces in the Nikial and Nezapir Sectors on July 19, 2017,” the Foreign Office said in a statement.
Despite calls for restraint, India continues to indulge in ceasefire violations. To date in 2017, the Indian forces have carried out 594 ceasefire violations along the Line of Control and the Working Boundary,” the statement added.
The Director-General urged India 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 in spirit; and maintain peace on the Line of Control.
He also called for the establishment of United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) to play its role as mandated by the U.N. Security Council resolutions.
Pakistani shelling
On Wednesday, the Pakistani military claimed to have killed five Indian soldiers and injuring several others along the Line of Control. The video showed a military post being destroyed in shelling by the Pakistani troops. The military said one Pakistani soldier and two civilians were killed in the firing by the Indian troops.
“India’s unprovoked firing along the LoC in the Nezapir, Sabzkot and Kayani sectors targeted the Pakistan Army posts and civilian population. A soldier embraced shahadat and two were critically injured. Two civilians embraced shahadat and five were injured. The Pakistani Army aggressively responded... The response destroyed Indian posts firing on Pakistani posts and civilians. Five Indian soldiers were killed and many injured. Indian guns fell silent because of effective engagement,” said Major General Asif Ghafoor, Director-General of Inter Services Public Relations.
He said unprovoked ceasefire violations would always meet with a strong response.