RAWALPINDI: Army Chief Gen Raheel Sharif presides over a meeting of corps commanders here on Monday.—Online
RAWALPINDI: Army Chief Gen Raheel Sharif presides over a meeting of corps commanders here on Monday.—Online

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan reminded the world on Mon­day about risks to regional peace and security due to the ‘unresolved Kashmir issue’ as tensions with India spiked in the aftermath of a terrorist attack on its Uri army camp and calls for punitive strikes grew louder in New Delhi.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who is in New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly session, wrote letters to leaders of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council in which he pointed to the potential fallout of the volatile situation in India-held Kashmir on the region and beyond.

“Non-resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute is a constant source of tension and instability in the region and a threat to international peace and security,” he said.

Mr Sharif drew attention of the world leaders to atrocities being perpetrated by Indian security forces in the Valley and reiterated Pakis­tan’s commitment to a peaceful resolution of the dispute.


Pakistan ready to thwart any design against its integrity and sovereignty, says COAS


The prime minister will address the UN General Assembly on Wednesday. The focus of his speech is expected to be on the Kashmir issue and the hostility his country is facing from India.

Meanwhile, Army Chief General Raheel Sharif, while presiding over a meeting of corps commanders at the General Headquarters, said that his troops were ready to thwart any design against the country’s integrity and sovereignty.

“We are fully cognisant and closely watching the latest happenings in the region and their impact on the security of Pakistan,” he said in response to hostile statements made by the Indian leadership after the Uri attack.

Tensions between the two countries have been rising since protests engulfed held Kashmir following the killing of militant commander Burhan Wani by Indian security forces on July 8. More than 100 people have been killed by Indian forces over the past 74 days and thousands injured, many of them blinded due to indiscriminate use of pellet guns.

Things took a turn for the worse after the attack on the military camp in Uri on Sunday that left 18 soldiers dead. India, which was already hurling allegations against Pakistan, started threatening about a reprisal attack.

Indian Director General of Military Operations Lt Gen Ranbir Singh told journalists in New Delhi that his country had “the desired capability to reply to such blatant act of violence in a manner as deemed appropriate by us”.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier said that “those behind this despicable attack will not go unpunished”.

The Indian government is blaming Pakistan for the attack and alleges that the strike was carried out by militants who had crossed the Line of Control (LoC) from the other side.

Pakistan has vehemently denied the allegation.

“Pakistan categorically rejects the baseless and irresponsible accusations being levelled by senior officials in Prime Minister Modi’s government,” Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz said in a statement.

“It was particularly deplorable that the Indian (home) minister chose to blame Pakistan for the incident even before conducting a proper investigation into the incident. The statement is part of a pattern to mislead world opinion and cover up India’s reign of terror (in Kashmir),” he added.

Meanwhile, Pakistani officials shared with the media India’s three-tier security arrangement along the LoC and Working Boundary for countering infiltration.

According to them, the first tier is close to the LoC and is supported by Long Range Reconnaissance and Observation System, Battle Field Surveillance Radar, hand-held thermal imagers, night vision devices, spotter scopes, high resolution binoculars and digital cameras.

The second tier has two layers of fencing, one of which is 12 feet high and the other 10 feet high. The two fences are six feet apart and between them is 4-6 feet of barbed wire. This is reinforced by surveillance devices and physical patrolling by troops.

The third tier is on the ridge line.

Responding to Indian allegations of ceasefire violations by Pakistan along the LoC, the officials instead pointed fingers at Indian security forces.

Indian troops had violated ceasefire 607 times since 2014 killing 59 people, they said.

Maximum ceasefire violations happened around the UN General Assembly sessions, the officials said and added that they believed that India deliberately committed violations to escalate the situation during that period.

Published in Dawn, September 20th, 2016

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