New Delhi: India on Tuesday summoned a senior Pakistani diplomat to register a strong protest over attempts by terrorists to enter Indian territory earlier this week, and ask Pakistan to return the bodies of two of its nationals killed in the incident, a statement from the Indian foreign ministry said.
Three Indian soldiers were also killed in the attack that took place on Sunday in Jammu and Kashmir’s Sunderbani area.
“It was informed that two Pakistani armed intruders have been killed by the Indian security forces during the ensuing firefight and the Government of Pakistan took custody of the dead bodies of its nationals. The (Indian foreign) ministry condemned in the strongest terms such provocative action by Pakistan, which reveals their complicity in aiding and abetting terrorism and exposes the hollowness of Pakistan’s deceitful claims to promote constructive engagement and desire for peace,” according to the statement.
According to a report in the Hindustan Times on Monday, an Indian Army patrol team was ambushed by a group of heavily armed intruders from Pakistan on Sunday, killing three soldiers and seriously injuring a fourth. The report quoted a senior Army officer as saying that the ambush appeared to have been carried out by Pakistan’s Border Action Team or BAT, which had crossed into India.
In the past, BAT teams had been accused by India of beheading of its soldiers along the India-Pakistan border.
The Indian foreign ministry statement also said that India had conveyed New Delhi’s “grave concern at the continuing incidents of unprovoked ceasefire violations by the Pakistan forces along the Line of Control (LoC) and the International Border (IB).”
“Despite repeated calls for restraint and adherence to the ceasefire understanding of 2003 for maintaining peace and tranquillity, Pakistani forces have carried out 1,591 incidents of unprovoked ceasefire violations along the LoC and IB in 2018 so far. Pakistan was called on to abide by its bilateral commitment not to allow any territory under its control to be used to support terrorism against India in any manner,” the statement added.