ISLAMABAD: India has responded to Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif’s letter for de-escalation on the Line of Control (LoC) by renewing allegations of “infiltration and terrorism”.

Foreign Office spokesman Dr Muhammad Faisal confirmed on Saturday that the Indian response to the foreign minister’s letter had been received.

Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj in her letter said that shelling incidents took place because of infiltration and terrorist attacks, adding that the Indian troops responded to ceasefire violations by Pakistan.

The Indian foreign minister’s reply was in accordance with the position taken by Indian military and conveyed to Pakistan during the Direc­tor General Military Opera­tions’ hotline interactions.

Mr Asif, in his letter to Ms Swaraj dated Nov 20, had called for political intervention to de-escalate the situation on the LoC, saying that the existing mechanisms like DGMOs hotline and flag meetings had failed to deliver.

India is said to have breached the ceasefire on more than 1,300 occasions this year in which 52 civilians have lost their lives, while 175 have been injured.

Mr Asif’s letter emphasised the need for “extraordinary” steps to prevent further loss of lives.

Speaking over the phone, Dr Faisal said the purpose of Mr Asif’s letter was to explore the way forward. “There was no intention of political point scoring. It was only meant to save human lives,” he maintained.

Earlier on Thursday, he had said that the foreign minister’s letter aimed at underscoring the urgency of the situation that was resulting in loss of precious lives, which benefited neither side and was a threat to regional peace.

“The foreign minister’s letter is a testament to Pakistan’s desire to have a peaceful neighbourhood which is essential for development of the people,” he had said.

The spokesman, during the telephonic conversation, recalled that India was not even ready to allow UN military observers to independently monitor the situation.

The foreign minister’s proposal for political intervention to restore the sanctity of the 2003 understanding for ceasefire on LoC and Working Boundary was the latest in a series of proposals by Pakis­tani authorities that Indians have refused to entertain.

Some of the earlier proposals made by Pakistan included higher level (two star general) approval for calibre escalation and moving the guns farther from LoC.

Published in Dawn, December 10th, 2017