Three Pak Army soldiers killed in retaliatory fire by Indian Army, Pak summons Indian diplomat over 'ceasefire violations'

Update: Four Pakistani soldiers killed in relatiatory fire by Indian Armed Forces.

Pakistan on Thursday summoned India's Deputy High Commissioner Gaurav Ahluwalia to protest over the alleged ceasefire violations by Indian troops along the Line of Control (LoC) that killed three of its soldiers. The soldiers were killed in retaliatory fire by Indian Forces after Pakistan's aggression from across the LoC.

On Thursday, the Indian Army said three Pakistani soldiers were killed in the retaliatory action to the unprovocative firing from across the border. The Pakistan Army violated ceasefire in Uri and Rajouri sectors on the same day, Army sources said. However, sources in the Indian Army refuted claims made by Pakistan that five Indian soldiers were killed in the ceasefire violations along the Line of Control.

The ceasefire violations from the Pakistani side began on the day when India commemorated its 73rd Independence Day. The Indian Army retaliated befittingly to the unproved firing by the Pakistani troops. New Delhi has repeatedly urged Pakistan to "respect" the 2003 ceasefire arrangement between the two countries. 

Pak summons envoy

Meanwhile, Director General (South Asia and SAARC) Mohammad Faisal, who is also the Pakistan's foreign ministry spokesperson, summoned Ahluwalia and "condemned the unprovoked ceasefire violations by the Indian forces on 15th August in Lipa and Battal Sectors," the Foreign Office said in a statement.

The firing killed three Pakistani soldiers, it said. Faisal claimed the Indian forces along the LoC and Working boundary have "continuously been violating the 2003 ceasefire arrangement, which needs to be respected." "The ceasefire violations by India are a threat to regional peace and security and may lead to a strategic miscalculation," he said.

Faisal urged the Indian side to instruct its forces to respect the ceasefire, in letter and spirit and maintain peace on the LoC and the Working Boundary. He also urged the Indian side to permit United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) to play its mandated role as per the UN Security Council resolutions.

India has maintained that the UNMOGIP has outlived its utility and is irrelevant after the Simla Agreement and the consequent establishment of the LoC. 

(With agency inputs)