India summons Pakistan envoy after killing of three children in ceasefire violation

NEW DELHI: India on Tuesday summoned Pakistan's deputy high commissioner Syed Haider Shah and issued a demarche over the recent upsurge in ceasefire violations by Pakistani forces in Jammu and Kashmir+ , which have resulted in several deaths and numerous casualties.

It also conveyed to the Pakistani diplomat that deliberate targeting of civilians was not acceptable and that it went against humanitarian norms and practices.

"Pakistan Deputy High Commissioner Syed Haider Shah was summoned today and a strong protest was lodged at the death of three Indian minor children in unprovoked ceasefire violation by the Pakistan forces in the Poonch sector on 2 October 2017," the Ministy of External Affairs said in a statement.

Three minors, among them a nine-year-old boy and a teenage girl, were killed+ while nine other civilians had sustained wounds as Pakistani troops opened fire and lobbed mortars at dozens of villages and posts along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district yesterday.

Registering its strong protest at the incident, the foreign ministry pointed out to deputy high commissioner Shah that such breaches of truce by Pakistan have become par of the course of late.

"Strong concern was also expressed at continued unprovoked firing by Pakistan forces across the Line of Control and the International Boundary in violation of the 2003 Ceasefire Understanding. 503 such violations have been carried out by Pakistan forces so far during 2017," it said.

The move comes a day after Pakistan summoned India's deputy high commissioner, alleging that Indian forces had resorted to firing along the LoC on September 30 and October 2, killing three civilians and injuring five others.

Last month, India had issued another diplomatic note to Pakistan, over the infiltration by a group of JeM terrorists who killed eight security personnel in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama in an attack on August 26. The foreign ministry had then exhorted Pakistan to investigate the incident and bring to justice the individuals and entities responsible for orchestrating the heinous attack.