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LoC ceasefire is tested by violations |
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The 14-month-old ceasefire along the frontiers in Jammu and Kashmir was tested for the first time last week, with two violations in the Poonch and Rajouri sectors that the Pakistan Army has promised to investigate.
The peace between Indian and Pakistani forces deployed along the Line of Control (LoC) was punctured by firing and shelling on January 18 and 20, the first time the truce has been violated since it came into force in November 2003.
On Jan 20, small mortar shells were fired from across the LoC at Gambhir in the BG sector, about 200 km from Jammu.
The first violation was reported on Jan 18 when a dozen heavy mortar shells were fired at an Indian post in the Poonch sector. It came hours after five infiltrators were gunned down by Indian troops in the same area.
While the second incident involved small calibre mortars and small arms that are available with guerilla groups, the first one involved 82mm mortars that are only available at the battalion-level of the Pakistan Army.
Lt. Gen. B.S. Thakur, who assumed the office of the Indian Army’s Vice Chief on Jan 19, said: “We take it as a violation of the ceasefire and we would like to use restraint. And that is what we have done so far, we have not retaliated.
“I am sure the Pakistan government will consider this case with all seriousness and we will get some reply from the Pakistan regime,” he said.
The matter was discussed on the hotline between India’s Director General of Military Operations, Lt. Gen. A.S. Bahiya, and his Pakistani counterpart, Maj. Gen. Mohammed Yusuf.
The Pakistani side initially said it had no information about the incidents but promised to probe the truce violations.
Senior army officials in Jammu, however, did not want to jump to conclusions and said they were investigating to ascertain whether Pakistani troops or guerillas were responsible for the incident of Jan 20.
Army Chief Gen. N.C. Vij was to dedicate to the nation’s peace and prosperity the 480-km-long LoC fencing in J&K near Tarkundi, a point where the geographical boundaries of the two border districts, Rajouri and Poonch, meet at a height of nearly 5,500 feet, but deferred his trip due to bad weather.
Air Commodore (Retd) Jasjit Singh, Director of the Delhi-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said there could be any of three reasons for the unprovoked firing: one, it was done with the knowledge of the Pakistan Army; two, it was the work “without authority from above” elements in the army opposed to the peace process with India; and, three, it was the work of the guerillas.
He said the guerrilla groups were known to possess such mortars as they had used them before the ceasefire came into effect. He said it was, however, surprising for the Pakistan Army to say that it did not know who was responsible for the firing.
“President (Pervez) Musharraf has questioned India’s charges of infiltration by militants, asking how it could take place when the Indian Army was present in large numbers in Jammu and Kashmir.
“We can ask him the same thing now - how can such firing take place without the knowledge of the Pakistan Army which has a heavy presence across the LoC,” he said.
Singh however said the two incidents by themselves were “not major” but the two sides should initiate steps, like flag meetings by local commanders, to ensure that such incidents did not recur.
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