NEW DELHI, October 8 (RIA Novosti) – India's retaliatory attacks against Pakistan in the disputed border regions of Jammu and Kashmir do not target civilians, Border Security Force Director, Gen. D. K. Pathak, told RIA Novost Wednesday.
"We are retaliating the firing from the Pakistani side but unlike Pakistani forces Indian force is professional and we are not targeting civilians. Pakistani forces is targeting civilians near the border. No trained force does act in such a manner," Gen. Pathak said.
According to the Indian military, Pakistan is trying to use the Kashmir issue to deflect attention away from its internal problems.
"Continuous firing from Pakistani side is a planned and deliberate attempt to divert the attention from its internal problem. The political situation in Pakistan is volatile so the both the army and its politicians are using old Kashmir issue to again internationalize it so as to gain political mileage," Yogendra Kumar, a former Indian diplomat who has served in Pakistan told RIA Novosti Wednesday.
"Pakistan aims to establish Kashmir as a contentious issue. Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had tried hard to do this in UN when he raised the Kashmir issue at UNGA [UN General Assembly] meeting without success. Thus this prompted Pakistan to resort to this tactics," Kumar noted.
On Monday, India called on Pakistan to stop violating the ceasefire on the border with Jammu and Kashmir. Thousands of local residents have fled their homes in the region amid continuing firing from both sides.
Last week, it was reported that Pakistani fighters broke the ceasefire, agreed with India in 2003, in the Gulmarg sector of Kashmir Valley as well as in Poonch and Jammu sectors, leaving one person dead and six others injured.
Amid continuing ceasefire violations, India has toughened its stand on the issue. The country's Border Security Force is expected to compile a report on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir to be used by India's Home Secretary Anil Goswami in his briefing to Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged India and Pakistan to resolve their issues diplomatically and through dialogue, according to a statement made by spokesperson Stephane Dujarric Tuesday.
