UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan has urged the UN Security Council (UNSC) to “take notice” of the escalating incidents of firing by Indian troops across the Line of Control (LoC) in the disputed Kashmir region and along the Working Boundary in which a large number of civilians have been killed and injured, it was officially stated Friday.

In a letter to the President of the UNSC, Ambassador Vitaly Churkin of Russia, who holds the rotational presidency of the 15-member body for the month of September, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the UN Maleeha Lodhi emphasised that India should be asked to abide by the 2003 ceasefire agreement.

In doing so, Ambassador Lodhi has taken the issue of India's “provocative” actions to the highest levels of the United Nations.

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In her letter, the Pakistani envoy gave details of breaches of the ceasefire, and pointed out that there had been a spike in such violence in the last couple of months. These violations have involved the use of small arms as well as heavy mortar fire, and had targeted innocent civilians, including women and children, the letter said.

She requested the UNSC president to circulate the letter as an official document of the Security Council.

In July 2015, a Pakistan Mission press release said Indian security forces committed 36 violations of the ceasefire, resulting in five civilians being killed and six injured. In August 2015, it said, the number increased significantly, with ceasefire violations reaching 90, leading to 20 civilians being killed and 97 injured.

Over the past several weeks, Pakistan has been raising the issue of violations by India along the LoC in Kashmir and the Working Boundary at the UN with top officials in the Department of Political Affairs and Peacekeeping Operations, the handout said.

In this connection, Ambassador Lodhi briefed the senior UN leadership, including Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliasson, about Indian violations which “deliberately targeted the civilian population” and called for the UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) to investigate these violations.

In her meeting with Jan Eliasson, Lodhi had informed him of India's rejection of dialogue by setting pre-conditions for the first-ever official talks between the National Security Advisers of the two countries, which led to the cancellation of the meeting, the press release said. Earlier, India had also cancelled the Foreign Secretary level talks last year, it said.

Pakistan remains committed to peaceful resolution of all outstanding issues, including Jammu and Kashmir, the release said.