RAWALPINDI: Pakistan army on Monday termed Indian Army Chief’s claims about ceasefire violations on the Line of Control (LoC) as “provocative” and “regrettable”.
In a statement issued by Inter Services Public Relation (ISPR) on Monday, it was stated that “Pakistan army respects the ceasefire agreement in letter and spirit.”
It said that the issue was discussed during the meeting of the Director Generals Military Operations (DGMOs) of the two countries on December 24, 2013 during which they agreed to maintain ceasefire. It said that there was improvement in the situation on the LoC afterwards.
The statement noted that the claim of the Indian army chief negated ground realities and such statements would vitiate the environment.
Earlier in the day, Indian army chief Bikram Singh said during a press conference that the Indian forces will retaliate strongly if Pakistani forces violate the ceasefire along the LoC.
Singh said that the Indian army makes attempts to control the situation at the border and not escalate it.
“If rules are followed by our neighbours, we follow them too. If rules are broken, we would not sit on it, we will break them too,” the Indian army chief said. “We will pay Pakistan back in the same coin.”
The Indian army chief also noted that the frequency of ceasefire violations have decreased ever since the recent meeting between the DGMOs of both the countries was held at Wagha border.
“Ceasefire violations have continued. Since the agreement on ceasefire violation there has been a reduction in the ceasefire violations. After that these ceasefire violations have been for infiltration bids,” Singh said.
“Our forces respect the laws of Geneva Convention. We do act. Our forces retaliate is a professional way,” he added.
