https://arab.news/5hjgg
- FM Qureshi accuses India of cease-fire violations, warns of escalation
- Pakistani forces ready to respond to aggression, says military spokesman
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Thursday that he had warned the United Nations of escalating tensions in South Asia, citing India’s “cease-fire violations on the Line of Control (LoC)” that are posing “serious risks for regional peace and security.”
Quershi said in a video message that over 3000 cease-fire violations that were “unprovoked and deliberate” have targeted “over 300 civilians, including women and children, since January 2019 alone.”
The minister said Indians had in five sections opened the LoC fence and deployed BrahMos cruise missiles and anti-tank Spike guided missiles “for use across” the border.
Qureshi demanded that the UN respond to the purported moves by India.
The Foreign Office said in a statement that in his most recent letter from Dec. 12, Qureshi apprised the UN Security Council and secretary general of “Indian actions that continue to escalate tensions in an already tense environment in South Asia.”
Qureshi urged the Security Council to play its role and reiterated Pakistan’s proposal to strengthen the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) presence in the region.
“Consistent with its responsibilities under the UN Charter and relevant Council resolutions on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, the Security Council must remain seized of the matter and play a proactive role in peaceful resolution of this long-standing dispute on the Council’s agenda,” Qureshi’s letter read.
Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor, director general of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Pakistan Army’s media wing, said in a Twitter post on Thursday that any aggression by the Indian side will be answered.
“Provocative statements and preparations for escalation along LOC by Indian COAS (chief of army staff) appear to be an effort as usual to divert world attention from wide spread protests in India against CAB. Pakistan Armed Forces shall befittingly respond to any Indian misadventure or aggression,” he wrote.