India, Pak agree on strict observance of LoC pacts

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 25

India and Pakistan have agreed to strictly observe all existing ceasefire agreements along the Line of Control (LoC) and other sectors in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

4,645 Ceasefire violations in 2020

3,168 Such incidents at border in 2019

Peace initiative

• Both sides signed a peace pact in 2003, but it was hardly adhered to
• A similar initiative in May 2018 had failed to yield desired results
• India said its position on counter-terror operations won’t change

A joint statement issued on Thursday said the Director Generals of Military Operations (DGMOs) of the two countries held discussions over hotline and reviewed the situation along the border.

“Both sides agreed on strict observance of all agreements and understandings on ceasefire with effect from the midnight of February 24/25,” the statement said.

The agreement was reached on February 22 but announced today, ironically on the eve of the second anniversary of the Balakot airstrikes when Indian Air Force jets bombed terror camps in Balakot, Pakistan.

The two countries had signed a ceasefire agreement in 2003, but it was hardly adhered to over the past several years with more violations than observance of the pact. A similar statement on following the pact was issued in May 2018 after the neighbours exchanged some serious firing following which the DGMOs spoke to each other.

The DGMOs and their officials had been talking as the civilian population on either side was getting hit due to the cross-LoC firing.

Indian officials said the agreement did not mean that counter-terrorism operations in J&K or action to check infiltration along the border would stop. The agreement was only about not firing across at civilian population, they said.

“In the interest of achieving mutually beneficial and sustainable peace along the border, the DGMOs agreed to address each other’s core issues and concerns, which have propensity to disturb peace and lead to violence,” the Defence Ministry in India said.

Both sides reiterated that existing mechanisms of hotline contact and border flag meetings would be utilised to resolve any unforeseen situation or misunderstanding.