Foreign Office summons Indian Charge d’Affaires following death of 24-year-old civilian along Line of Control
Pakistan on Monday lodged a protest with India over the neighboring nation’s latest ceasefire violation along the Line of Control after unprovoked firing resulted in the death of a civilian.
The Foreign Office issued a statement saying that Indian Charge d’Affaires Gaurav Ahluwalia had been summoned by Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri, the director-general South Asia and SAARC, to register a protest over ceasefire violations by Indian forces. The “unprovoked” firing in Kotkera and Karela sectors on Jan. 11, it said, had resulted in the death of a civilian, 24-year-old Muhammad Ishtiaque.
Condemning the targeting of innocent civilians by Indian forces, Chaudhri termed the “senseless Indian acts” a threat to regional peace and security, and in clear violation of the 2003 Ceasefire Understanding between Pakistan and India. “India cannot divert attention from the worsening human rights violations taking place in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir [through such actions],” he added.
According to the Foreign Office, Chaudhri also said India’s actions marked a “complete disregard for international human rights and international norms… [and] are a threat to regional peace and security.”
The DG (South Asia and SAARC) urged India to respect the ceasefire, investigate all incidents of deliberate violations and work to maintain peace along the Working Boundary and the Line of Control dividing Kashmir between Pakistan and India. He also urged New Delhi to allow the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan to play its mandated role as per U.N. Security Council Resolutions.
The UNMOGIP was set up in 1949 after the approval of U.N. Resolution 39, which established the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP) to supervise the ceasefire between the two countries in Jammu and Kashmir. Following the 1972 Agreement between India and Pakistan, which established a Line of Control in Kashmir, India unilaterally declared the UNMOGIP mandate expired and restricted the functioning of the group. The United Nations has stated that only a Security Council Resolution could declare the expiration.