Pakistan summons Indian envoy over killing of two civilians

Pakistan summoned the Indian Deputy High Commissioner and lodged a formal protest on Wednesday over ceasefire violations in Jammu and Kashmir resulting in the killing of two civilians.

The Director General of South Asian at the Foreign Ministry, who summoned the Indian diplomat, condemned the "unprovoked ceasefire violations" by the Indian Army in Baroh and Tandar sectors along the Line of Control (LoC) on Tuesday, the Foreign Ministry said.

Two people, including one woman in Barho and a man in Tandar, were killed, a Foreign Ministry statement said.

"The deliberate targeting of civilians is indeed deplorable and contrary to human dignity and international human rights and humanitarian laws," the Pakistani official told the Indian diplomat.

The Director General also urged the Indian side to respect the 2003 ceasefire arrangement and investigate this and other incidents of ceasefire violations.

He said the Indian side should permit UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan to play its mandated role as per the UN Security Council resolutions.

Pakistan military spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor told the media on Sunday that Indian forces had committed 580 ceasefire violations this year, which he described as the "highest in any year".

Pakistan and India had declared a ceasefire along the LoC, the de facto border which divides Kashmir between them.

--IANS

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