12 killed in Indian firing across Sialkot border

PM summons meeting of National Security Council tomorrow

Mariana Baabar
Thursday, October 09, 2014
From Print Edition


186 36 5 1



ISLAMABAD: Twelve Pakistanis have lost their lives and dozens injured while many
properties have been damaged as India continued to fire across the Sialkot border during
the three days of Eidul Azha. The latest death on Wednesday was of an injured man hit
earlier who finally succumbed to his wounds.

Pakistan has called upon the Indian government to immediately cease fire and shelling and help
preserve the peace.On the first day of Eid on Monday, the Foreign Office said that this was the
sixth violation by Indian forces, which has occured on a daily basis since October 1 from
Akhnur, Dawar, Gulmerg, Jammu, Dawar and lastly, from the Charwah sectors. Nine lives were
lost on that day alone besides others who were seriously injured.

India too has complained of the dead and injured on their side with Pakistan asking for peace to
be given a chance, adding that festering issues cannot be ignored. However, New Delhi has
been reluctant to allow the UN Military Observer Group (UNMOGIP) to investigate the
incidents even when they occur on the Line of Control (LoC).

Pakistan says that the firing using mortar shells from across the working boundary is
unprovoked at a time when the government has taken up these incidents and protested both at
the diplomatic level in Islamabad and New Delhi and at the United Nations Assembly plenary in
New York.

Adviser to the Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, while
hoping that India would give peace a chance, pleaded: The ceasefire on the Line of Control and
the Working Boundary must be preserved in the larger interest of the region and the peoples of
the two countries. We have often called for making full use of the channels available, like the
hotline between DGMOs and sector commanders meetings, he said in a statement.

He expressed disappointment that all of Pakistans efforts to secure peace and tranquility on the
Line of Control and the Working Boundary had elicited no cooperation from the Indian side.
UNMOGIP must also be enabled to play its due role in monitoring the ceasefire to secure peace
and tranquility on the Line of Control and Working Boundary, he added.

A day later, Pakistans permanent representative at the United Nations, Ambassador Masood
Khan told the 193 member assembly, Longstanding, festering issues cannot be swept under the
carpet. We call upon the Indian government to immediately cease fire and help us preserve
tranquility, he said, adding that the UNMOGIP, the world bodys observer force in the disputed
region, must be enabled to play its role in monitoring the ceasefire.

Earlier, on Monday as the nation was busy celebrating Eid, the Foreign Office in a statement said
that the firing started at midnight and continued till the morning.

The Indian violation, in complete disregard of the sacred occasion of Eidul Azha, caused the
Shahadat of four innocent citizens and injuries to three others. Two children and a woman in
village Dharmala and one 60-year-old man in Tulsipur were among the casualties while two
civilians in Dharmala and a child in village Harpal were injured, said the spokesperson.

Sensing the danger of these continued ceasefire violations which on Pakistans side saw the
largest number of deaths last week, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has convened a meeting of the
National Security Committee on Friday, October 10, 2014 to discuss the recent ceasefire
violations by India at the Line of Control and Working Boundary.

Already involved in a massive military operation in North Waziristan to eliminate the militants
and safe havens of terrorists, Sharif would not like to see his force overstretched on the LoC and
the Working Boundary.