Guterres' ceasefire appeal is global: UN spokesman as Pak engages in unprovoked firing along LoC

The ceasefire appeal by UN chief Antonio Guterres amidst the coronavirus pandemic is global and should be applied everywhere, including along the Line of Control, his spokesperson said, as Pakistani forces engaged in unprovoked firing along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir this week that killed an Indian national.

India on Friday registered a strong protest with Pakistan over the killing of an Indian national in an unprovoked firing by Pakistani forces along the LoC in Poonch district on Thursday.

The Secretary-General's appeal for a global ceasefire is exactly that. It is global, and it should be applied everywhere, UN spokesman Stphane Dujarric said on Friday.

He was responding to a question on the unprovoked firing by Pakistan at the Line of Control even as the UN chief has appealed for a global ceasefire in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, the Pakistan Army targeted Qasba, Kirni, Shapur and Mankote sectors of Poonch, Indian officials said.

There have been frequent incidents of ceasefire violation by the Pakistani side since India announced its decision to withdraw special status of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcate it into two union territories in August last year.

Pakistan often resorts to ceasefire violations to push militants into the Indian side. Indian troops have also been retaliating to Pakistani actions under its policy of hot pursuit.

Pakistan Army on Thursday claimed that a 34-year-old Pakistani soldier and two women were killed in firing allegedly by the Indian troops across the Line of Control (LoC) on April 29.

Dujarric added he has not got any updates from the UN colleagues in the United Nation Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) on the situation.

The UNMOGIP, established in January 1949, observes and reports on ceasefire violations along and across the LoC and the Working Boundary between the two neighbours in Jammu and Kashmir, as well as reports developments that could lead to ceasefire violations.

India, however, maintains that UNMOGIP has "outlived its relevance" after the Simla Agreement signed between the two countries in 1972.