Islamabad: Pakistan on Friday summoned Indian Deputy High Commissioner J.P. Singh to condemn the “unprovoked ceasefire violations” by Indian forces along the International Border in Sialkot Sector, that left one civilian dead and injured nine others.

A 24-year-old man Irfan, resident of village Harpal, was killed while the injured included women and elderly persons, a Foreign Office statement said.

Director General (SA & SAARC) Mohammad Faisal conveyed to Singh that the Indian forces were “continuously engaged in indiscriminate and unprovoked firing with heavy mortars and automatic weapons on the civilian populated villages, since the last two days.”

In 2018, the Indian forces have carried out more than 125 ceasefire violations along the Line of Control and the International Border in just 19 days, resulting in the death of four civilians, and injuries to 20 others, the Foreign Office statement said.

It said: “This unprecedented escalation in ceasefire violations by India is continuing from the year 2017 when the Indian forces committed more than 1,900 ceasefire violations.”

It deplored the “deliberate targeting of civilian populated areas” which it said was “contrary to human dignity, 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 statement said.

Indo-Asian News Service