ISLAMABAD : Pakistan today said at least seven of its soldiers were killed in “unprovoked” firing by Indian troops across the LoC following which Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif asserted that the country is “fully capable” of defending its territory against “any aggression”.
Seven Pakistani soldiers were killed at the LoC in the Bhimber sector in an alleged ceasefire violation by Indian troops late last night, according to a statement by the army.
Pakistani troops responded to “unprovoked” Indian firing and targeted Indian posts “effectively”, it said.
Sharif expressed grief over the loss of lives in the “latest violation of Line of Control (LoC) by the Indian forces” and said “it is extremely unfortunate that Indian forces have continuously violated ceasefire agreement at the LoC in the recent days”, Press Information Department Pakistan said.
“We are fully capable of defending our soil against any aggression,” it quoted Sharif as saying.
The Prime Minister also claimed that the Indian forces have resorted to escalating tension on the LoC only to “uselessly divert” the world’s attention from the “grave human rights situation” in Kashmir.
So far, mostly civilian have been killed in the firing on Pakistani side of the LoC.
Pakistan Foreign Office last week said that the civilian death toll from alleged Indian shelling has risen to at least 25 in the past few weeks.
Pakistan’s Advisor to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz also condemned the “unprovoked Indian firing” on the LoC, Foreign Office (FO) said
“He (Aziz) expressed heartfelt condolences to the families of those killed,” it said, adding that Aziz expressed grave concern over the recently increased frequency and duration of indiscriminate firing/shelling “from the Indian side, deliberately targeting villages and civilian populated areas”.
FO said that Pakistan is urging the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) to send an urgent report to the UN Security Council to inform them about the serious ceasefire violations on the LoC and the unwarranted escalation of tension between the two countries.
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, responding to the latest development along the shared Pak-India border, claimed that India was heating up the situation along the LoC and Working Boundary due to internal compulsions, Radio Pakistan reported.
The defence minister said it was regrettable that “certain extremist elements which had come into power in India could become a source of destruction not only for their own country but the whole region”.
Asif urged the global community to take notice of “Indian provocations against Pakistan” as any escalation of tension between the two nuclear armed neighbours could prove catastrophic for the whole region.
He added that Pakistan is using diplomatic and international forums to highlight Indian “belligerence”.
(PTI)
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