Pak trying to divert attention from internal strife by ceasefire violations, says defence expert

Defence expert Lieutenant General (retd.) Raj Kadyan on Thursday said the frequent ceasefire violations by Pakistan along the Line of Control (LoC) and International Border are an attempt aimed at diverting attention from its own internal strife.

"Pakistan is trying to divert attention from its own internal strife. Nawaz Sharif is under siege and Islamabad is still full of protestors. He has lost credibility and popularity but elections are still far off. That country has a pathological hatred for India and Kashmir is just a manifestation of that," Lieutenant General (retd.) Kadyan told ANI.

"Sharif is trying to bring the issue on to the international table. They want this ceasefire violation to continue in the hope that the international community puts pressure on India to resolve the issue over Kashmir," he added.

Lieutenant General (retd.) Kadyan also said that Pakistan, fearing an open war with India, was resorting to creating internal problems via terrorism.

"Terrorism continues to be a great threat to India, particularly now, when Pakistan is frustrated. They cannot wage an open war against India and they have been unable to internationalise the Kashmir issue. Thus the only recourse open to them is to create internal problems, be it fighting a proxy war in the Kashmir valley or causing problems further inside," he said.

Earlier in the day, Pakistan had violated the ceasefire by targeting Indian Border out Posts (BoPs) along the international border at three places in the Kathua, Samba and Jammu districts.