ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: As many as 10 innocent civilians including two women sustained serious injuries when the Indian forces opened indiscriminate and unprovoked firing along the Line of Control (LoC) on February 9, 2020.
The firing took place in Jabbar, Sandhara, Sumbal Gali and Dabsi Villages of Kotli District resulting in serious injuries to Muhammad Shabbir S/O Sakhi Muhammad, Jamila Bibi D/O Muhammad Din, Muhammad Amin S/O Muhammad Din, Muhammad Yasin, and Muhammad Safin S/O Muhammad Yasin from Jabbar Village.
Likewise, three residents of Sandhara Village including Muhammad Haleem S/O Jamal Din, Muhammad Zeeshan S/O Muhammad Haleem, and Muhammad Junaid S/O Muhammad Haleem were also seriously injured along with Zubaida Bibi W/O Muhammad Zaheer of Sumbal Gali Village and Zaheer S/O Naqeeb Ullah of Dabsi Village.
In order to register Pakistan’s strong protest at the ceasefire violations by Indian occupation forces along the LoC, the Indian Charge d’Affaires Gaurav Ahluwalia was summoned by the Director General (South Asia & SAARC) Zahid Hafeez Chaudhry at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad on Monday.
Condemning the targeting of innocent civilians by the Indian occupation forces, the director general (SA & SAARC) underscored that such senseless Indian acts, in clear violation of the 2003 Ceasefire Understanding and complete disregard for international human rights and international norms, further vitiate the tense atmosphere along the LoC and are a threat to regional peace and security. He added that by raising tensions along the LoC and the Working Boundary (WB), India cannot divert attention from the worsening human rights situation in the Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJ&K).
The director general (SA & SAARC) called upon the Indian side to respect the 2003 ceasefire understanding; investigate this and other such incidents of deliberate ceasefire violations and maintain peace on the LoC and the WB. He also urged that India should permit the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) to play its mandated role as per the UN Security Council.