The ambassadors, defence attachés and representatives of international organizations Thursday visited Jora Sector of the Line of Control (LoC) and extended their gratitude to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) and Pakistan Army for providing access to the local population and area along the LoC.
The diplomats and attaches visited the LoC to assess the Indian Army troops’ ceasefire violation damages inflicting heavy losses to local population and observe the ground realities, said an Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) press release. The diplomatic community was also given a briefing on the latest situation along the LoC by ISPR Director General Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar. They also met victims of Indian shelling, spoke to young women and children affected and witnessed damaged homes, shops and protection bunkers for the civilian population.
“The diplomats were briefed that Indian troops intentionally target the civilian population along the LoC. India has committed 2,333 ceasefire violations during this year,” the report said. During the visit, the DG ISPR informed the diplomats that the Indian army used cluster ammunition along the LoC, deliberately targeting civilian population. “The Pakistan Army, being a professional army, only targets military posts,” he said, adding that Indian actions are in violation of the Geneva Convention and international humanitarian law. “Because of the severe impact on non-combatants, the use of cluster ammunition is prohibited under the Convention on Cluster Ammunition. This blatant Indian aggression against all international norms exposes [the] true character of the Indian Army and their moral standing.”
Maj Gen Iftikhar said it was time for the international community to take notice of India’s blatant violation of international laws. “In Indian Illegally Occupied Kashmir, the gravest human rights violations are being done. Since 2014, ceasefire violations have increased, using heavy weapons to deliberately target the civilian population,” he said, adding that this was an attempt to divert attention from what was happening in occupied Kashmir and with minorities in India, adding that the Kashmir issue needed to be resolved according to the relevant UN resolutions.
The delegation included diplomats, defence attachés and representatives of various countries and organisations including Azerbaijan, Bosina and Herzegovina, the European Union, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, Palestine, Greece, Australia, Iran, Kyrgyz Republic, Iraq, UK, Italy, Poland, Uzbekistan, Germany, Switzerland, France, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Afghanistan, and the UN-World Food Programme.
Turkish Ambassador Ihsan Mustafa Yurdakul after the visit said, “I will repeat what the Turkish President said in the UN General Assembly two days ago. The Jammu and Kashmir issue is a very serious issue which should be resolved through negotiations under UN Security Council resolutions.” European Union Ambassador Androla Kaminara said, “I not only witnessed the whole situation rather listened to the victims.”
