India initiated unprovoked firing across LoC, says DG ISPR

RAWALPINDI (92 News) – Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) DG Lt. General Asim Bajwa in an interview to a Chinese news agency said that it was Indian troops who have initiated violation of 2003 ceasefire along the LoC, which divides the nuclear rivals in the disputed Kashmir region. "The Indian forces violated the Line of Control by fire and then few hours later they made a false claim about surgical strikes' across the Line of Control. We did check everything on ground and we found the claim was absolutely false," the army spokesman said. He further said Indian forces fire into the Pakistani side every day since then, adding that the Indian fire came to a maximum on Wednesday as they fired over 25,000 rounds with small arms – rifles and machine-guns as well as mortars. "What we see is that there is more intensified firing along the LoC, and of course, when there is more fire, the situation does escalate. The environment also escalates when there is more rhetoric and more statement and more pronouncements by the Indian side,” Bajwa said. Meanwhile, the army spokesman emphasized the importance of resolving current tension through dialogue. He said contacts between Pakistani and Indian armies are maintained, confirming that the director generals of the Military Operations have talked over the phone after the start of the cross LoC firing. "All communication channels including the hotline between the two militaries are open," he said, adding that the UN Military Observer Group in Pakistan and India also monitor the situation and report to its headquarters. "Pakistan wants peacefully neighborly relations with all countries in the region and that is the policy of the state of Pakistan and that is the policy of the political government and every element of power in the country follows the same policy," said Bajwa. On Wednesday, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif told the parliament that his country wants to resolve disputes with Indian through dialogue. Meanwhile, he said that Pakistan is a responsible state, but its desire of peace should not be considered as its weakness, adding that the armed forces are capable of thwarting any foreign aggression effectively.