Foreign media correspondents visit LoC, briefed on Kashmir situation by Pakistan Army: ISPR

Published August 29, 2019
Foreign correspondents in Pakistan pose for a photo during a visit to the LoC in AJK. — Photo courtesy: Munir Ahmed on Twitter
Foreign correspondents in Pakistan pose for a photo during a visit to the LoC in AJK. — Photo courtesy: Munir Ahmed on Twitter
Pakistani troops patrol near the Line of Control in Chakothi sector in AJK on Thursday. — AFP
Pakistani troops patrol near the Line of Control in Chakothi sector in AJK on Thursday. — AFP

A group of foreign media correspondents in Pakistan on Thursday visited the Line of Control (LoC) in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, the military's media wing said, as tensions between Islamabad and New Delhi remain high over India's move to revoke occupied Kashmir's special autonomy.

The journalists reporting for foreign media organisations were briefed on the regional situation and Indian ceasefire violations across the LoC "deliberately targeting civilian population", a tweet by Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor said.

This picture taken from a Pakistani security post shows an Indian flag flying over a military post near the LoC in Chakothi sector, in AJK. — AFP
This picture taken from a Pakistani security post shows an Indian flag flying over a military post near the LoC in Chakothi sector, in AJK. — AFP

The correspondents also freely interacted with the locals in AJK, the tweet added.

It pointed out that Indian-occupied Kashmir, meanwhile, "remains locked down under curfew hiding Indian atrocities".

Maj Gen Ghafoor also shared video clips and photos showing the foreign journalists receiving a briefing and interviewing local residents.

Munir Ahmed, a correspondent for the Associated Press based in Islamabad, thanked the DG ISPR for inviting the foreign journalists for the visit, saying it helped them "understand situation at the LoC, where Pakistani and Indian troops are 'eyeball to eyeball'."

"We went close to a place from where Indian posts could be seen without using binoculars," the journalist said in a tweet.

Girls make their way back home from school near the LoC in Chakothi sector, in AJK on Thursday. — AFP
Girls make their way back home from school near the LoC in Chakothi sector, in AJK on Thursday. — AFP

India's government, led by the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, decided on August 5 to repeal of Article 370 of the Indian constitution, that granted occupied Kashmir special status. The government instituted a security lockdown and communications blackout to avoid violence. The clampdown is now on its 25th day.

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