The Pakistan government on Saturday summoned India’s Deputy High Commissioner JP Singh to the Foreign Ministry Office in Islamabad to protest against alleged ceasefire violations by Indian military forces along the Line of Control, GeoNews reported. One woman reportedly died in the firing in the Nakyal sector.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mohammad Faisal alleged that Indian security forces had been using heavy weapons to target civilian areas along the Line of Control and the international border, PTI reported. The ceasefire violations have been continuing since 2017, when 1,970 ceasefire violations occurred, he claimed.
“The deliberate targeting of civilian populated areas is indeed deplorable and contrary to human dignity, international human rights and humanitarian laws,” Faisal said.
He urged India to respect the 2003 ceasefire arrangement, investigate this incident and other incidents of alleged ceasefire violations, and told Singh that the Indian forces must respect the ceasefire in letter and spirit.
One Indian Army soldier was killed and three were injured in cross-border shelling in the Krishna Ghati sector of Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district on April 3. There have been several cases of alleged ceasefire violations by both India and Pakistan over the past few months. Last month, India summoned Pakistan’s Deputy High Commissioner Syed Haider Shah to protest against the death of civilians in alleged unprovoked firing by Pakistani forces in Jammu and Kashmir.
The summons issued to Singh came days after Indian High Commissioner Ajay Bisaria met Pakistan’s National Security Adviser Nasser Khan Janjua on April 3 to discuss the ways in which the bilateral relationship could be improved.
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