ISLAMABAD, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan on Tuesday summoned Indian envoy over cross-border shelling which killed a woman and injured another, officials said.
The Foreign Ministry said "Indian occupation forces" fired along the Line of Control(LoC) in Kashmir region's Khuiratta and Karela Sector on Aug. 7, resulting in the killing of a 35-year old woman, Munira Bibi in Karela Sector and injury to another woman, Farena Bibi in Khuiratta Sector.
"The deliberate targeting of civilians is indeed deplorable and contrary to human dignity and international human rights and humanitarian laws," the Director General at the South Asian Desk in the Foreign Ministry Mohammad Faisal told Indian Deputy High Commissioner J.P. Singh.
Pakistan and India had declared ceasefire in 2003 along the LoC, which divide both nuclear rivals in Kashmir.
Faisal urged the Indian side to respect the 2003 Ceasefire arrangement, investigate this and other incidents of ceasefire violations, and instruct the Indian forces to respect the ceasefire, in letter and spirit and maintain peace on the LoC.
He also pushed the Indian side should permit UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan to play its mandated role as per the UN Security Council resolutions.
The Foreign Ministry said India continues to "indulge in ceasefire violations" despite calls for restraint.
In 2017 to date, Indian forces have carried out more than 600 ceasefire violations along the LoC and the Working Boundary, resulting in the killing of 25 civilians and injuries to 110, as compared to 382 ceasefire violations in 2016.
However, Pakistani Defense Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan informed the National Assembly on Monday that Indian troops have committed 319 ceasefire violations along the LoC in the disputed Kashmir region since November last year. Meanwhile, 66 civilians have been killed and 228 injured due to unprovoked firing by Indian forces since January 2013.
There has been escalation along the LoC since a militant attack on an army center in the Indian-controlled Kashmir killed 19 soldiers on Sept. 18 last year.
The Indian military blamed the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad group for the attack and also pointed fingers at Pakistan. However, Islamabad rejected the charges and suggested an independent investigation.
