New Delhi: Days after Pakistan issued a joint statement with India promising to take “collective responsibility to ensure peace”, Islamabad is once again resorting to unprovoked firing along the Line of Control and International Border in Jammu and Kashmir.
People living along the LoC are spending sleepless nights as mortar shells fired from across the border are landing on their homes and fields. Frightened villagers showed bullet marks and gaping holes in their homes made by Pakistan shelling and firing.
The Pakistani troops resorted to firing in the RS Pura today, leaving four civilians injured. Yesterday, the Pakistan Rangers violated the ceasefire twice by resorting to firing and mortar shelling in the Akhnoor sector in which a woman was killed and six others, including two BSF jawans, were injured.
Meanwhile, the Indian Army foiled an infiltration bid in Poonch sector after which Pakistan forces resorted to unprovoked firing.
“Today between 1 am to 2:30 am, an attempted infiltration bid was foiled by our troops,” Colonel Manish Mehta, PRO, Defence said.
And, in an apparent bid to deflect attention from its misadventures along the border, Pakistan has shot down a drone in its airspace, which it claims was an Indian spy drone.
Taking up the matter officially, the Pakistan foreign office has summoned Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Dr TCA Raghavan to register its protest over the incident.
India has also taken up strongly the issue of ceasefire violations, ahead of Prime Minsiter Narendra Modi's visit to Jammu on Friday.
Media reports said that India has conveyed its objection to the developments along the border to Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit in Delhi.
Government sources told news agency PTI that India has lodged a protest both in Islamabad as well as in New Delhi. "Our High Commissioner in Islamabad raised the issue with the Pakistan Foreign Office and Pakistan's High Commissioner in Delhi was also conveyed India's concerns regarding ceasefire violation in which one woman was killed and some people injured," they said on Thursday.
“We are disappointed at the developments which have taken place this morning? There was major ceasefire violation committed by Pakistani forces in Akhnoor sector which led to casualties in India. I spoke to the (Pak) foreign secretary this morning and again in the afternoon? The ceasefire violation has led to the death of a civilian woman in Akhnoor," Raghavan said yesterday.
To a question about the Kashmir "dispute" he said, India was never shy of talks over Kashmir as a part of the region is "under illegal occupation of Pakistan". "I am not sure what you mean by dispute, but I can tell you that we are deeply concerned about the part of Kashmir which is under the illegal occupation of Pakistan. We will pursue this matter with all the force at our command," the envoy said.
He said that since Pakistan has illegally occupied part of Jammu and Kashmir, India has concerns over the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) passing through it.
About voice samples of Mumbai attack mastermind Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi, Raghavan said that the important thing is that agreement on it has been reached but the stage for it has not come as yet. "I am sure that stage will come when the high commission will be told how to proceed forward with the voice samples of Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi or others," he said.
Responding to a query on the fate of the composite dialogue, he said that it was important to look at the issues on which agreement has been reached between the two Prime Ministers rather than speculate on other matters. He said that the two leaders had agreed that it was collective responsibility to take steps for regional development. Raghavan said that the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif has helped to reduce tensions.
(With Agency inputs)
