FO summons Indian envoy, lodges protest over ceasefire violations

ISLAMABAD: The Indian Deputy High Commissioner was summoned to Foreign Office on Sunday to condemn the unprovoked ceasefire violations by the Indian forces in Kotli and Nakyal Sectors yesterday.

The Acting Director-General for South Asia and SAARC Dr Muhammad Faisal protested against Indian ceasefire violations resulting in the martyrdom of two children and injuries to four others, including three children, the foreign office spokesperson said.

He said that the Indian Border Security Forces (BSF) had carried out more than eleven hundred ceasefire violations along the Line of Control (LoC) and the Working Boundary, resulting in the martyrdom of 47 innocent civilians and injuries to 159, as compared to 382 ceasefire violations in 2016.

Indian forces fire across LoC, injure five civilians

A six-year-old girl and a 45-year-old man were among those injured by Indian firing

"The deliberate targeting of civilians is indeed deplorable and contrary to human dignity and international human rights and humanitarian laws," Faisal said, adding that the ceasefire violations by India are a threat to regional peace and security and may lead to a strategic miscalculation.

He urged the Indian side to respect the 2003 Ceasefire Agreement, investigate the recent incident, and other ceasefire violations.

"India should instruct the BSF to respect the ceasefire in letter and spirit to maintain peace on the LoC," he said. "India should permit the United Nations Military Observer Group (UNMOG) to play its mandated role as per the UN Security Council resolutions."