- Indian Charge d’ Affaires summoned to Foreign Ministry to register protest over ceasefire violation
RAWALPINDI: Two civilians were martyred and another critically injured when Indian forces opened “indiscriminate” fire on a group shepherds in Sattwal Sector along the Line of Control (LoC) on Saturday, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.
Following the attack, Pakistan summoned the Indian Charge d’ Affaires to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Saturday here to register strong protest over the ceasefire violation committed by the Indian forces in Satwal Sector of the Line of Control (LoC).
Condemning the deplorable targeting of innocent civilians by the Indian forces, it was underscored that such senseless acts are in clear violation of the 2003 Ceasefire Understanding, reaffirmed in February 2021. It was further underscored that targeting of civilians is contrary to human dignity and international human rights and humanitarian laws.
The Indian side was urged to respect the Ceasefire Understanding, investigate the incident, and maintain peace along the Line of Control.
According to ISPR, the military’s media wing, “The Indian Army in a display of its usual inhumane approach towards innocent Kashmiris, opened indiscriminate fire at 11:55 am onto a group of shepherds in Sattwal Sector.”
“In sequel to Indian Army unprovoked firing today while adopting an inhumane approach towards innocent Kashmiris at Sattwal Sector, one more civilian has embraced shahadat while one remains critically injured. (Total two martyred and one critically injured),” it said in a subsequent statement.
The ISPR identified the martyred as: Obaid Qayyum, 22, and Muhammad Qasim, 55. “Both shaheeds (martyrs) are residents of village Bara Dari Tetrinote, Tehsil Hajira, District Poonch,’ it added.
The military’s media wing said that driven by a newly found geo-political patronage, Indian forces have embarked on a plan to take innocent lives to satiate their false narratives and concocted allegations.
The statement further said while a strong protest was being launched with India and Pakistan reserved the right to respond back in a manner of its choosing to protect Kashmiris’ lives in the LoC belt.
The ISPR “reminded” the Indian side to respect the basic human rights of Kashmiris, “particularly their inalienable right to their lands”.
Last month, Indian troops had shot dead a 25-year-old inadvertent crosser from Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
Earlier on May 15, Parveen Fatima, a 65-year-old widow from the Pandu sector of AJK’s Jhelum valley district, was also mercilessly killed by the Indian army after she had strayed across the LoC while picking some medicinal plants.
US-India joint statement
The ugly episode unfolded days after the United States and India issued a joint statement, calling on Pakistan to crack down on extremists that target New Delhi.
The statement was issued as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met US President Joe Biden on his visit to the US. It called for action against extremist groups based in Pakistan such as the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad.
It said: “They (Biden and Modi) strongly condemned cross-border terrorism, the use of terrorist proxies and called on Pakistan to take immediate action to ensure that no territory under its control is used for launching terrorist attacks.”
A day ago, the Foreign Office (FO) had termed the statement “misleading and unwarranted”, saying that the “reference is contrary to diplomatic norms and has political overtones”.
Responding to media queries, FO Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch had said, “India, in addition to being a state-sponsor of terrorism, habitually uses terrorism bogey to deflect attention from its brutal repression of Kashmiri people in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, and maltreatment of its minorities.”
She had further asserted that the joint statement failed to address the “key sources of tension and instability in the region and to take cognisance of the grave human rights situation in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir.’
