DNA

ISLAMABAD, SEPT 29 – Indian Charge d’Affaires Gaurav Ahluwalia was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to register Pakistan’s strong protest over the ceasefire violations by the Indian occupation forces along the Line of Control (LoC) on 28^th September 2020, resulting in one Shahadat and serious injuries to four innocent civilians.

Due to indiscriminate and unprovoked firing by the Indian occupation forces in Tandar Sector of the LoC, 15 year old Waleed s/o Muhammad Fareed, embraced shahadat and 25 year old Misba Begum w/o Muhammad Amjad, 45 year old Zaheer Abbas s/o Sufi Khadim, 80 year old Qasim Sain s/o Muhammad Sain and 26 year old Suleman s/o Muhammad Hussain, residents of Sona valley and Kartan village, sustained serious injuries.

The Indian occupation forces along the LoC and the Working Boundary (WB) have been continuously targeting civilian populated areas with artillery fire, heavy-caliber mortars and automatic weapons. This year, India has committed 2387 ceasefire violations to date, resulting in 19 shahadats and serious injuries to 191 innocent civilians.

Condemning the deplorable targeting of innocent civilians by the Indian occupation forces, it was underscored that such senseless acts are in clear violation of the 2003 Ceasefire Understanding, and are also against all established humanitarian norms and professional military conduct. These egregious violations of international law reflect consistent Indian attempts to escalate the situation along the LoC and are a threat to regional peace and security. It was added that by raising tensions along the LoC and the WB, India cannot divert attention from the grave human rights situation in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK).

Indian side was called upon to respect the 2003 Ceasefire Understanding, investigate this and other such incidents of deliberate ceasefire violations and maintain peace along the LoC and the WB. The Indian side was also urged to allow the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) to play its mandated role as per the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolutions.