The Foreign Office (FO) said that Indian troops on Thursday opened unprovoked fire across the Line of Control in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, killing an elderly woman.

The incident, which the FO said was latest in a series of ceasefire violations by India, took place in the Kot Kotera sector.

FO Spokesperson Dr Muhammad Faisal on Friday said that Pakistan had summoned the acting Indian deputy high commissioner to lodge a protest over the killing of 65-year-old Hussain Bibi.

The FO spokesperson stated that so far in 2018, Indian forces have committed more than 70 ceasefire violations along the LoC and the Working Boundary, resulting in Hussain Bibi's death and wounding five others.

"The deliberate targeting of civilians is indeed deplorable and contrary to human dignity and international human rights and humanitarian laws," the FO spokesperson said in a press release issued today.

"The ceasefire violations by India are a threat to regional peace and security and may lead to a strategic miscalculation," the FO warned.

The FO spokesperson urged India to "respect the 2003 ceasefire arrangement; investigate this and other incidents of ceasefire violations; instruct the Indian forces to respect the ceasefire, in letter and spirit and maintain peace on the LoC and the Working Boundary."

"The Indian side should permit the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan to play its mandated role as per the UN Security Council resolutions," he added.

New Delhi has yet to respond to the protest registered by the FO.

Ceasefire violations are a frequent feature along the LoC and Working Boundary despite the leadership of Pakistan Rangers and India's Border Security Forces agreeing in November 2017 that the "spirit" of a 2003 ceasefire agreement must be revived to protect innocent lives.

By June 2017, unprovoked firing by Indian forces across the LoC had taken 832 lives, left 3,000 injured and had damaged 3,300 houses, according to the director general of the Disaster Management Authority, Zaheeruddin Qureshi.

Opinion

Editorial

Hasty transition
Updated 05 May, 2024

Hasty transition

Ostensibly, the aim is to exert greater control over social media and to gain more power to crack down on activists, dissidents and journalists.
One small step…
05 May, 2024

One small step…

THERE is some good news for the nation from the heavens above. On Friday, Pakistan managed to dispatch a lunar...
Not out of the woods
05 May, 2024

Not out of the woods

PAKISTAN’S economic vitals might be showing some signs of improvement, but the country is not yet out of danger....
Rigging claims
Updated 04 May, 2024

Rigging claims

The PTI’s allegations are not new; most elections in Pakistan have been controversial, and it is almost a given that results will be challenged by the losing side.
Gaza’s wasteland
04 May, 2024

Gaza’s wasteland

SINCE the start of hostilities on Oct 7, Israel has put in ceaseless efforts to depopulate Gaza, and make the Strip...
Housing scams
04 May, 2024

Housing scams

THE story of illegal housing schemes in Punjab is the story of greed, corruption and plunder. Major players in these...