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India rubbishes Pakistani charge of truce violation |
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India has dismissed a Pakistani charge that its forces deployed along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir had violated the ceasefire on the frontiers in that State.
Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Masood Khan had claimed that Indian troops had violated the truce on Jan 21 in the Mendhar sector of the LoC. He said no damage was caused during the reported incident.
This was the first time Pakistan had accused India of a ceasefire violation.
Maj. Gen. Deepak Summanwar, the Indian Army’s spokesperson, said the claim was baseless and that Pakistani troops had violated the nearly 14-month ceasefire twice this month.
“There were two instance of the ceasefire being violated by Pakistani forces on Jan 18 and 20. We objected to these violations,” Summanwar said.
“We sought a flag meeting and this was held (between battalion commanders) in the Mendhar sector on Jan 23 and we reiterated our objections.
“We emphasised that we had carried out no violation of the ceasefire on our part,” Summanwar said.
In the incidents on Jan 18 and 20, Indian positions along the LoC came under mortar and small arms fire. No one was injured in the incidents.
The matter figured in conversations last week between the Directors General of Military Operations of the two countries on their hotline. Indian Army officials had said the Pakistani side had promised to probe the incidents.
India has put its troops on alert along the LoC as army commanders believe the firing along the ceasefire line could be a precursor to fresh attempts to push terrorists into Jammu and Kashmir.
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