Intensifying the ongoing war of words, India on Sunday asked Pakistan to stick to the 2003 ceasefire agreement and maintain peace at the Line of Control. A government source said the Indian military response has been restrained so far despite more than 2,000 ceasefire violations by Pakistan.
“This year they have resorted to more than 2,050 unprovoked ceasefire violations in which 21 Indians have died. We have repeatedly called upon Pakistan to ask its forces to adhere to the 2003 ceasefire understanding and maintain peace and tranquillity along the LoC and the International Border,” said a source.
The statement came even after Pakistan summoned Indian Charge d’Affaires Gaurav Ahluwalia and conveyed Islamabad’s condemnation of alleged ceasefire violations by Indian forces on September 14 in Nikial and Jandrot sectors of the LoC. Pakistan claimed that Indian firing claimed the life of one civilian of Balakot village near the LoC. Pakistan urged India to allow UNMOGIP to look into the incidents of firing.
The exchange between Pakistan and India came in the backdrop of a similar diplomatic spat that broke out between Islamabad and Kabul after alleged shooting from militants in Afghanistan killed a border guard on the Pakistani side. On Saturday an Afghan diplomat was summoned and Islamabad urged Kabul to help reduce tension on the border in the Northwest.
