Pakistan on Wednesday summoned an Indian diplomat in Islamabad over ceasefire violations by Indian forces at the Line of Control, or de-facto border that separates the countries, in the Kashmir region on Tuesday (25 February). Islamabad claimed several innocent civilians were wounded in fire by the Indian Army.
Pakistan's Foreign Ministry claimed 40-year-old Muhammad Bashir, a resident of Mandhar was seriously injured in "indiscriminate" and "unprovoked" firing by Indian troops.
“The Indian occupation forces along the LoC and Working Boundary have continuously been targeting civilian populated areas with artillery fire, heavy-calibre mortars, and automatic weapons, which still continues", a statement by Pakistan's Foreign Office said.
The ministry said unprecedented ceasefire violations from the Indian side have been ongoing since 2017 and 384 such violations have already taken place in 2020.
Pakistan said India was trying to divert attention away from the “worsening human rights situation” in Jammu and Kashmir and asked New Delhi to respect the 2003 ceasefire arrangement.
This is the fifth time the Pakistani Foreign Ministry has summoned Indian diplomats over ceasefire violations in the last three weeks. While Islamabad has maintained there were 3,000 ceasefire violations by Indian troops in 2019, New Delhi has claimed 3,479 such incidents.
The region of Kashmir is a bone of contention between of the countries who govern it in part but claim it in full. The nuclear-armed neighbours have fought three wars since their independence in 1947, two on Kashmir and the third on the liberation of Bangladesh, which was part of Pakistan prior to 1971.
