ISLAMABAD: With no signs of reprieve along the Line of Control (LoC) due to continued ceasefire violations by India, Pakistan on Wednesday expressed concern over reports of deployment of additional 10,000 troops in India-held Kashmir and New Delhi’s plan to change the constitutional status of the disputed territory by carrying out delimitation.

A minor boy was another casualty of the continued Indian shelling in Katha Chogalli village in the lower belt of Neelum Valley on Wednesday. Eleven others, including the boy’s mother, were injured in the fresh ceasefire violation by Indian troops, taking the death toll to three and number of the injured to 37 over the past 24 hours.

Due to the prevailing tense situation, Pakistan has evacuated 50 Chinese nationals to Muzaffarabad who had been working on a dam project along the confluence of Neelum and Jhelum rivers.

Addressing a news conference at the Foreign Office after briefing the parliamentary committee on Kashmir affairs on the recent visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan to the United States in the context of Pakistan-India relations, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that India was “gradually eroding” the “biggest CBM (confidence building measure)” between the two countries through continued violation of the ceasefire agreement on the LoC.

Chairman of the Kashmir committee Fakhar Imam said the new Indian government led by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wanted to carry out delimitation of the constituencies in held Kashmir and Pakistan should stay alert over the development.

FO again summons Indian deputy high commissioner, condemns unprovoked ceasefire violations; boy dies in shelling on AJK village

According to disaster management officer Akhtar Ayub posted at district headquarters in Athmuqam, the fresh incident of LoC violation occurred in Katha Chogalli village at about 8.30am when some relatives and neighbours had gathered at the residence of Mohammad Siddique, who was injured in Tuesday’s shelling, to inquire about his health. Suddenly, he said, a single mortar shell fired by the Indian troops exploded close to them, leaving Mr Siddique’s young son dead and the rest injured.

On Tuesday, two persons were killed and eight injured in Neelum Valley alone. Elsewhere, eight persons were injured in Nauseri sector of Muzaffarabad district and 10 in Leepa Valley of Hattian Bala district. However, many casualties in Leepa could not be reported on Tuesday due to poor telecommunication network.

It was after many years that Nauseri sector was indiscriminately shelled by the Indian troops on Tuesday. During the shelling, at least one mortar shell had landed at the mouth of a dam and one several yards ahead of the spillways while five had struck a landslide across the reservoir, but no damage was caused to any structure, according to Muzaffarabad Deputy Commissioner Badar Munir.

FO protest

The Foreign Office once again summoned Indian Deputy High Commissioner Gaurav Ahluwalia and “condemned the unprovoked ceasefire violations by the Indian occupation forces along the LoC”.

On Tuesday, a 26-year-old civilian, Nouman Ahmad, was martyred while nine others, including women and children, were seriously injured.

“The Indian occupation forces along the LoC and Working Boundary have continuously been targeting civilian populated areas with heavy mortars and automatic weapons which still continues. This unprecedented escalation in ceasefire violations by India is continuing from the year 2017 when the Indian forces committed 1,970 ceasefire violations,” says a handout issued by the Foreign Office.

It adds that the deliberate targeting of civilian populated areas is “indeed deplorable and contrary to human dignity, international human rights and humanitarian laws”. “The ceasefire violations by India are a threat to regional peace and security and may lead to a strategic miscalculation,” says the statement.

FO spokesman Dr Mohammad Faisal urged the Indian side to respect the 2003 ceasefire arrangement, investigate these and other incidents of ceasefire violations and maintain peace on the LoC and Working Boundary.

Chinese nationals

The Chinese nationals working on a dam being constructed in Azad Kashmir along the confluence of Neelum and Jhelum rivers were evacuated when firing pushed the authorities to move the workers late Tuesday, reports AFP, quoting senior local administration official Badar Munir.

Another local official Raja Shahid Mahmood said local mosques had also called on residents to refrain from unnecessary movements which would expose them to potential firing.

Indian govt’s frustration

Director General of the Inter-Services Public Relations Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor through his official social media account on Twitter stated that continued violations on the LoC were indicative of Indian government’s frustration due to failure in occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

“Increased Indian ceasefire violations (CFVs) indicate their frustration due to failure in IOJ&K. CFVs are being and shall always be effectively responded. Pak Army shall take all measures to protect innocent civilians along LoC from Indian firing deliberately targeting them,” the ISPR chief tweeted.

Foreign Minister Qureshi cautioned India that Pakistan would strongly resist any move to revoke the constitutional status of held Kashmir. He said Article 370 of the Indian Constitution gave special status to occupied Kashmir and the BJP had pledged to revoke it after securing the second consecutive term in government. He said there had been opposition on the issue in India as well and a multi-party conference minus the BJP had been demanded by several politicians to settle the issue.

Mr Qureshi said Prime Minister Khan would attend the upcoming session of the UN General Assembly in September in New York where he would interact with world leaders and highlight the Kashmir issue.

Declaring the Kashmir dispute as major impediment in attaining peace in South Asia, the foreign minister questioned the Indian move to send 10,000 more troops in the area which was already known as the biggest militarised region. He said India was avoiding dialogue with Pakistan to resolve all outstanding issues.

He said US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad would soon visit Pakistan to discuss with stakeholders the peace process in Afghanistan.

Fakhar Imam said the offer of President Donald Trump to mediate on the Kashmir issue was a “silver lining” and Pakistan needed to approach the important countries of the world to make further progress on this US offer. He said India was not ready to resolve the matter through bilateral or multi-lateral dialogue.

Mr Imam said any attempt by India to change Kashmir’s constitutional status would not be acceptable and it would have an effect on the region.

Tariq Naqqash from Muzaffarabad also contributed to the report

Published in Dawn, August 1st, 2019