Two civilians were martyred on Saturday, while another was “critically injured” when the Indian Army launched “indiscriminate fire” on a group of shepherds along the Line of Control, according to the army’s media relations department.
Both parties reaffirmed their commitment to the 2003 ceasefire deal and pledged to address the “core issues” that threaten peace and stability in February 2021.
“Today, at 11:55 hours, Indian Army, in a display of its usual inhumane approach towards innocent Kashmiris, opened indiscriminate fire onto a group of shepherds in Sattwal Sector,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) stated in a statement.
“In response to the Indian Army’s unprovoked firing today in Sattwal Sector, while adopting an inhumane approach towards innocent Kashmiris, one more civilian has embraced shahadat, while one remains critically injured.” (There were two martyrs and one gravely injured),” it claimed afterwards.
Obaid Qayyum, 22, and Muhammad Qasim, 55, were recognised as martyrs by the ISPR. “Both shaheeds (martyrs) are from the village of Bara Dari Tetrinote, Tehsil Hajira, District Poonch,” the statement continued.
“Driven by a newfound geopolitical patronage, Indian forces have embarked on a plan to take innocent lives to satiate their false narratives and concocted allegations,” the statement continued.
“While a strong protest is being launched with the Indian side, Pakistan reserves the right to respond in any manner it sees fit to protect Kashmiri lives along the Line of Control,” it added.
The ISPR “reminded” the Indian side to uphold Kashmiris’ fundamental human rights, “particularly their inalienable right to their lands.”
Last month, Indian troops killed a 25-year-old unintentional border crosser from Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
Earlier that month, on May 15, Parveen Fatima, a 65-year-old widow from AJK’s Jhelum valley district, was cruelly slain by the Indian army after crossing the LoC while harvesting medicinal plants.
The news comes just days after the US and India released a joint statement urging Pakistan to crack down on radicals who target New Delhi.
The statement was given during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the United States, where he met with US President Joe Biden. It demanded action against Pakistan-based terrorist organisations such as the proscribed Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad.
“They (Biden and Modi) strongly condemned cross-border terrorism and the use of terrorist proxies and called on Pakistan to take immediate action to ensure that no territory under its control is used to launch terrorist attacks,” the statement added.
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The Foreign Office (FO) had previously described the statement as “misleading and unwarranted,” adding that the “reference is contrary to diplomatic norms and has political overtones.”
Responding to media inquiries, FO Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch stated, “India, in addition to being a state-sponsor of terrorism, habitually uses the terrorism bogey to deflect attention from its brutal repression of Kashmiri people in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, and maltreatment of its minorities.”
The Control Line
In February 2021, both parties reaffirmed their commitment to the 2003 ceasefire agreement along the Line of Control and vowed to resolve the “core issues” that threaten peace and stability.
The startling disclosure was made in a joint statement by the two militaries on a “hotline contact” between their director generals military operations (DGMOs).
One of the oldest military confidence-building mechanisms between Pakistan and India is hotline contact. The hotline contact was established in 1971, but its use fluctuated according to ups and downs in the relationships.
Pakistan and India agreed to a cease-fire along the Line of Control and the Working Boundary in November 2003.
Since 2014, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office in India, there has been a substantial increase of truce violations. In 2020, Indian military violated the ceasefire over 3,000 times, killing 28 civilians.
Both countries came dangerously close to a major conflict in February 2019 when the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) shot down two Indian planes that had violated Pakistani airspace.
One of the Indian pilots was detained by Pakistan but later released as a goodwill gesture.
