FO summons Indian ambassador to protest ceasefire violation that killed 10-year-old girl near LoC

Published September 13, 2020
According to the press release, the Indian forces have been "targetting civilian populated areas with artillery fire, heavy-calibre mortars and automatic weapons" along the LoC and the Working Boundary. — Dawn/File
According to the press release, the Indian forces have been "targetting civilian populated areas with artillery fire, heavy-calibre mortars and automatic weapons" along the LoC and the Working Boundary. — Dawn/File

A 10-year-old girl was killed and four civilians suffered serious injuries after the Indian forces resorted to "indiscriminate and unprovoked firing" along the Line of Control, a Foreign Office press release said on Sunday.

The FO summoned the Indian Charge d’Affaires Gaurav Ahluwalia to register protest over the recent ceasefire violation on the night between September 11 and 12 in the Hotspring and Rakhchikri sectors of the LoC, which resulted in the killing of a 10-year-old girl from village Dera Sahib Zadian.

A teenaged boy and an elderly woman from the same village were seriously injured as were a four-year-old boy and a 40-year-old man from Degwar village.

According to the press release, the Indian forces have been "targeting civilian populated areas with artillery fire, heavy-calibre mortars and automatic weapons" along the LoC and the Working Boundary. This year, the Indian side has committed 2,225 ceasefire violations, in which 18 people have died and at least 176 civilians have been injured, FO said.

The Foreign Office emphasised that such "senseless acts" were a violation of the 2003 ceasefire understanding as well as "humanitarian norms and professional military conduct".

"These egregious violations of international law reflect consistent Indian attempts to escalate the situation along the LoC and are a threat to regional peace and security," the press release read. It further stated that the violations "cannot divert attention from the grave human situation" in Indian occupied Kashmir.

The Foreign Office called upon the Indian side to investigate the recent, as well as previous, incidents of ceasefire violations. It also stressed that the Indian forces must maintain peace along the LoC and Working Boundary.

Opinion

Editorial

War and peace
Updated 18 May, 2025

War and peace

Instead of constantly evoking the spectre of war, India and Pakistan should work towards peace.
Unequal taxation
18 May, 2025

Unequal taxation

PAKISTAN’S inefficient, growth-inhibiting, distortive and unjust tax system can justifiably be described as the...
Health crimes
18 May, 2025

Health crimes

MULTAN’S Nishtar Hospital, south Punjab’s largest public-sector hospital, was in the news last year for...
Tariff reform
Updated 17 May, 2025

Tariff reform

Planned import policy reforms signify a major positive shift in the govt’s economic and growth strategy.
Rising heat
17 May, 2025

Rising heat

AS the mercury continues to rise mercilessly across Pakistan, it becomes painfully clear that climate change has hit...
Missing link
17 May, 2025

Missing link

FINANCE Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb now has much to his credit, which is why his promise that the M6 motorway will ...