Pakistan-India tensions continue after shelling

SoldierIndia patrols along the border with Pakistan. (Source: Reuters)

According to Xinhua News Agency, Pakistani officials said on August 17 that the country had summoned the Indian Deputy High Commissioner to protest the cross-border shelling in the disputed Kashmir region that killed three civilians and injured 15 others in the past two days.

A statement from the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said the Indian Deputy High Commissioner was summoned to hand over a diplomatic note protesting ceasefire violations by Indian troops on August 15-16 along the Line of Control (LoC) in Kotli.

Pakistan has asked New Delhi to investigate the incident and inform Islamabad of the results, while instructing soldiers to respect the ceasefire and maintain peace along the LOC.

The statement also said Pakistan expressed deep concern over India's 70 ceasefire violations at the LoC and the International Border in the past two months.

Meanwhile, India also accused Pakistan of violating the ceasefire agreement, causing many casualties on the Indian side. New Delhi summoned Pakistan's High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit to hand over a diplomatic note of protest over these incidents.

Senior security advisers from the two countries are expected to meet in New Delhi on August 23-24 to discuss counter-terrorism measures and ease tensions along the LoC.

There have been several incidents of gunfire between Indian and Pakistani troops along the LoC in recent years, the de facto 720km border that divides the Himalayan region of Kashmir into Indian and Pakistani controlled parts.

However, both countries claim sovereignty over the entire Kashmir. Both sides often accuse each other of firing provocatively and violating ceasefire agreements in this border area./.

According to VN+