Pakistan, India to undertake ‘serious measures’ to stop ceasefire violations

• DGMOs agree to resolve matter through utilisation of existing mechanisms and border flag meetings

RAWALPINDI: After a month of frequent ceasefire violations by the Indian forces along the Line of Control (LoC) and Working Boundary (WB), the director general of military operations (DGMOs) of Pakistan and India agreed to address the issue by “undertaking serious measures”.

In a statement issued by the media wing of the Pakistan Army on Tuesday, a special hotline contact was established between the DGMO of Pakistan and India wherein both DGMOs reviewed the prevailing situation along the LoC and WB.

Pakistani and Indian counterpart agreed to improve the existing situation, ensuring peace and avoidance of hardships to the civilians along the borders, the statement said. They also agreed to fully implement the ceasefire agreement of 2003 in letter and spirit and to ensure strict adherence to it.

The latest ceasefire violations have taken a heavy toll on civilians living alongside the border who were forced to leave their homes in panic after several of them died as a result of intermittent Indian shelling.

The matter will be resolved through utilisation of existing mechanisms of hotline contacts and border flag meetings at local commander’s level, the statement said, adding that the officials agreed to exercise restraint.

Four civilians were martyred and 10 injured when Indian forces opened unprovoked fire on a border village across the Working Boundary in Sialkot.

Pakistan’s DGMO had taken up the issue previously too on April 28 with his Indian counterpart.

The last meeting of the DGMOs to address the issue of ceasefire violation was held in April 2018. At least 219 people had fallen victim to the firing by April 2018, reported a leading English publication. These recent violations have increased the number by dozens.

In 2018, the Indian forces have carried out more than 1,050 ceasefire violations along the LoC and WB, resulting in the killing of 28 civilians, while injuring 117 others, it added.

“In 2017, 46 civilians were killed in similar attacks and another 262 wounded, while the number of the deceased and injured persons in 2016 was 41 and 142 respectively,” according to the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA).

The DGMOs meeting along with Pak-India annual maritime dialogue in New Delhi indicate at a thaw in the much-tensed relations.

The annual maritime dialogue between the two coastal security agencies could not take place last year after India decided to put a hold on the talks due to the diplomatic unease caused by death sentence awarded to Indian Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav who was arrested in Pakistan on charges of terrorism and spying for India’s intelligence agency.