Pakistan briefs P5 envoys on border tensions

Pakistan Monday continued to build pressure on the UN over the border tensions with India as it Monday briefed envoys of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council on the matter.

Two days after sending off a letter to the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon on the issue, Sartaj Aziz, advisor to the prime minister on national security and foreign affairs Monday briefed the P-5 envoys on the situation on the Line of Control and the Working Boundary, said a Foreign Office statement here.

Aziz expressed concern "that the ceasefire violations by India and the provocative statements by the Indian leadership were not only a setback to peace efforts but also a distraction from Pakistan's counter-terrorism commitments in the ongoing Operation Zarb-e-Azb" against militants in the tribal areas.

He called upon the P-5 countries "to urge India to respect the ceasefire agreement and engage in a meaningful and serious dialogue", the statement said.

Aziz outlined Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's "vision of a peaceful South Asian region and his positive overtures to the Indian government since coming to power in May 2013, including reaching out to Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi".

He expressed his disappointment at the fact that first the foreign secretary-level talks, scheduled for Aug 25 were cancelled, and later, India resorted to unprovoked firing and shelling on the LoC and the Working Boundary resulting in many civilian casualties, injuries, and extensive damage to property, the statement said.

Aziz also informed the envoys about the letter to Ban in which he had "called upon the UN to play its due role towards defusing the prevailing situation, and monitoring of the ceasefire violations by the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP), which possessed both the mandate and the infrastructure to play its important role".

Pakistan Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry also attended the meeting.

In his letter to Ban, Aziz had drawn "urgent attention to the deteriorating security situation" along the border with India and stressed "the need to resolve the issue of Jammu and Kashmir in accordance with the resolutions of the UN Security Council".

He had also spoken of the Sep 26 address by Nawaz Sharif to the UN General Assembly where he had raised the Kashmir issue and said: "We cannot draw a veil on the issue of Kashmir, until it is addressed in accordance with the wishes of the people of Jammu and Kashmir" and reiterated Pakistan's readiness to work for resolution of this issue through negotiations.

The move came as after an overnight lull, Pakistan troops Monday broke the ceasefire again, opening firing on Indian positions on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district. A woman was injured in the firing, which was retaliated from the Indian side.

While Pakistan has claimed that 12 civilians have been killed in the border tensions, India maintains that eight of its civilians were killed in Pakistani truce violations.