New Delhi: Indian DGMO Lt General AK Bhatt had an unscheduled interaction with his Pakistani counterpart on Monday and made it clear that firing by Indian forces along the LoC is only in retaliation to forces from across the border providing cover to terrorists.
Lt General AK Bhatt gave a strong rebuttal to accusations from his Pakistani counterpart that Indian security forces were resorting to unprovoked firing. He reportedly countered the allegation by saying that 'retaliatory firing by Indian troops only carried out in response to unabated support given by Pakistan Army to terrorists.' He further said that the Indian Army always maintains impeccable standards of professionalism and does not target civilians.
Pakistani Army has repeatedly violated ceasefire across the LoC and even targeted civilian installations. According to Indian officials, Pakistan had violated ceasefire 600 times in this year - till September 30. It is the highest number of ceasefire violations in nearly a decade, a Home Ministry official had said.
There were nearly 450 ceasefire violations in 2016 in which 13 civilians and as many security personnel were killed.
The truce between India and Pakistan along the International Border, the Line of Control and the Actual Ground Position Line in Jammu and Kashmir had come into force in November 2003.
India shares a 3,323-km-long border with Pakistan of which 221 km of the IB and 740 km of the LOC fall in Jammu and Kashmir.
In recent weeks, pressure has been put on Pakistan to curb terrorism emanating from its soil with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson urging Islamabad to do more. In a strong message to Pakistan, the top-ranking US official said, ''India and USA stand shoulder to shoulder against terror.'' Tillerson had received a frosty welcome in Pakistan but it was more than made up for when he landed in New Delhi a day later.
