A woman embraced martyrdom and a minor girl sustained injuries when Indian troops opened unprovoked fire at civilian population along the Line of Control (LoC), the military’s media wing said on Monday.
In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said “yet another ceasefire violation occurred at Jandrot & Khuiratta Sectors along LoC deliberately targeting civilian population this morning”. The wounded child was later “evacuated and [was] being provided medical care”, the ISPR added.
Meanwhile, Indian Charge d’Affaires Gaurav Ahluwalia was summoned by the Foreign Office to register Pakistan’s strong protest over the ceasefire violations by the Indian forces along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jandrot and Khuiratta Sector.
The Indian forces along the LoC and the Working Boundary (WB) have continuously been targeting civilian populated areas with artillery fire, heavy-caliber mortars and automatic weapons. This year, India has committed 882 ceasefire violations.
Condemning the targeting of innocent civilians by the Indian forces, Director General (South Asia & SAARC) Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri underscored that such senseless acts, in clear violation of the 2003 Ceasefire Understanding and complete disregard for international human rights and international norms, further vitiate the tense atmosphere along the LoC and are a threat to regional peace and security. He said by raising tensions along the LoC and the WB, India cannot divert attention from the grave human rights situation in the occupied valley of Kashmir.
The DG called upon the Indian side 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. He also urged the Indian side 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.
Almost two weeks ago, Pakistan had also summoned the Indian envoy over cross-border shelling, which had killed a child and wounded four civilians. India had claimed that shelling from Pakistani forces had killed three civilians, while the Pakistani foreign ministry had said Indian firing had killed the child and wounded four others.
“This year, India has so far committed 749 ceasefire violations to date,” the ministry had said, adding its condemnation over the deliberate targeting of innocent civilians. Earlier this month, Pakistan had shot down an Indian quadcopter violating the country’s airspace and spying in Sankh Sector along the LoC. “In this provocative act, Indian quadcopter intruded 600 meters inside Pakistan’s territory for conducting surveillance,” the military’s media wing had said at that time. According to Azad Jammu and Kashmir President Sardar Masood Khan, Indian troops have stepped up ceasefire violations since the coronavirus outbreak was first reported in the region. So far, at least 59 people have been tested positive for the virus there.