Pakistan has carried out 3,800 unprovoked ceasefire violations so far in 2020, said an official of the Ministry of External Affairs. Official spokesperson of the Ministry Anurag Srivastava said in the weekly virtual press briefing on Thursday India has regularly taken up these violations with Pakistan through diplomatic channels.
“Pakistan forces have continued to engage in unprovoked ceasefire violations, often from civilian areas, to support infiltration of terrorists across the LoC. This is a clear violation of the 2003 Ceasefire Understanding between the two sides. This year, till date, Pakistani forces have carried out more than 3,800 unprovoked ceasefire violations. There have also been attempts to drop arms and ammunition close to the LoC in the garb of civilian activities," said Mr Srivastava.
The Indian official also accused Pakistan of using drones and quadcopters for smuggling of arms and narcotic substances across the International Border (IB). “Such violations are regularly highlighted to Pakistan through diplomatic channels and at the regular DGMO level talks,” Mr. Srivastava said.
The accusations are timed with the ongoing FATF Plenary meeting which is looking at Pakistan’s compliance with the 27-point FATF Action Plan. The official also pointed out that Pakistan has not fulfilled several of the action items. “As is well known, Pakistan continues to provide safe havens to terrorist entities and individuals and has almost not yet taken any action against several entities and individuals including those proscribed by the UNSC such as Masood Azhar, Dawood Ibrahim, Zaki-ur-Rahman Lakhvi.”
The FATF Plenary meeting (October 21-23) is examining Pakistan’s performance and will decide on the future course of action after verifying Islamabad’s claims regarding the action points.