India has denied its soldiers crossed the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan early on Sunday morning. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin while acknowledging the exchange of fire in the Rampur/Haji Pir sector, denied Pakistan’s charge that Indian troops had fired first.
The firing led to the death of a Pakistani soldier and the Indian Deputy High Commissioner in Pakistan Gopal Bagley being summoned to the Foreign Office in Islamabad.
According to the Indian version, Pakistan troops began unprovoked firing that damaged a roof in a village. Indian troops thereafter undertook “controlled retaliation”, said Mr. Akbaruddin.
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India, he added, was committed to the sanctity of the LoC which is one of the most important confidence-building measures between the two countries. Ceasefire along the LoC has largely held for nearly a decade and, as has been the case earlier, the designated military officers for such a situation have been in touch.
“We would call upon Pakistan authorities to ensure the sanctity of the LoC is upheld at all times and such incidents of unprovoked firing eliminated,” added the spokesperson.