The South Asia and SAARC desk at the Foreign Office on Wednesday summoned the Indian Deputy High Commissioner, JP Singh, and condemned unprovoked ceasefire violations by Indian forces in Kotkotera Sector along the Line of Control (LoC) on September 4.
The firing had resulting in the killing of a civilian identified as Abdur Rauf.
“The Indian Forces have carried out more than 2000 ceasefire violations along the Line of Control and the Working Boundary, resulting in the killings of 32 innocent civilians, while injuring 122 others. This unprecedented escalation in ceasefire violations by India is continuing from year 2017 when the Indian forces committed 1970 ceasefire violations,” the Foreign Office stated in a press release on Wednesday. “The deliberate targeting of civilian population areas is indeed deplorable and contrary to human dignity and international human rights and humanitarian laws. The ceasefire violations by India are a threat to regional peace and security and may lead to a strategic miscalculation.”
FO spokesperson Mohammad Faisal, who heads the South Asia and Saarc desk, urged the Indian side to respect the 2003 ceasefire arrangement and investigate the incidents of ceasefire violations. He also asked the Indian forces to respect the ceasefire, in letter and spirit and maintain peace on the LoC. Mohammad Faisal urged that the Indian side should permit UNMOGIP to play its mandated role as per the UN Security Council resolutions.
Published in Daily Times, September 6th 2018.
