Headlines
After Modi-Sharif bonhomie, India, Pakistan trade fire
New Delhi/Islamabad, July 16
India and Pakistan
on Thursday lodged protests against each other after cross-border
firing in Jammu and Kashmir left one dead and seven injured, days after
bonhomie between the prime ministers of both countries in Russia.
Stating
that Pakistan was trying to shift blame of ceasefire violations, India
cautioned it about "effective and forceful response" to an unprovoked
firing.
India, however, also reaffirmed its willingness to take
forward the process for improving ties decided at the bilateral meeting
at Ufa, in Russia.
Indian Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar told
media persons here after a meeting of senior ministers that Indian
forces had effectively retaliated to repeated ceasefire violations by
Pakistan.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Home Minister
Rajnath Singh and Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar met on Thursday
afternoon in the wake of "seriousness of unprovoked firing" by Pakistan.
In
Islamabad, Pakistan Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry met India's
High Commissioner T.C.A. Raghavan and registered a protest over the
firing as well as an alleged "Indian spy drone".
India raised
the issue with Pakistani envoy Abdul Basit, rejecting the Pakistani
claim that the shot down drone belonged to India.
The rising
tensions along the Jammu and Kashmir border -- where civilians have been
hit hard on both sides -- follow the July 10 joint statement between
India and Pakistan, released after the Narendra Modi-Nawaz Sharif
meeting at Ufa, to build peace.
There have been at least six
violations of the 2003 ceasefire by Pakistan in the last four days,
Foreign Secretary Jaishankar told media persons.
On July 12, Pakistani forces opened fire at Uri. A day later, there was a firing at Kupwara and Samba.
On
Wednesday, a woman was killed and four people - two troopers and two
civilians - were injured in indiscriminate shelling by Pakistan Rangers
in Akhnoor sector. There was also an infiltration attempt in Jammu
sector on Wednesday night.
Four villagers working in their fields
were left injured in Ranbir Singh Pura (R.S. Pura) near the
International Border in Jammu and Kashmir in Pakistani firing on
Thursday, a day ahead of Prime Minister Modi's visit in the region.
Villagers
living close to the border showed journalists bullet marks and gaping
holes made by Pakistan mortar shelling on their houses.
Jaishankar
said there had been agreement on meetings of chiefs of BSF and Pakistan
Rangers and director general military operations of India and Pakistan
at Ufa.
"We remain committed to steps that contribute to ensuring
peace and tranquillity on the border. However, there should be no doubt
that any unprovoked firing from the Pakistani side would meet with an
effective and forceful response from our forces," he said.
"Nor will we let down our guard against infiltration and cross-border terrorism," he added.
Jaishankar gave details of ceasefire violations by Pakistan, saying mortars and "flat trajectory weapons" were used.
He
said the National Security Advisor Ajit Doval spoke to Raghavan,
India's High Commissioner in Pakistan, on Wednesday, asking him to take
up ceasefire violations with the Pakistan government following four
attempts by the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Border Security Force
in Jammu to contact sector commander of Pakistan Rangers in Sialkot.
Jaishankar
said Doval also spoke to Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit for
corrective steps but there "was no response from Pakistan government to
our demarche".
He said as the NSA again spoke to Raghavan, and
Basit and the Pakistan High Commissioner later conveyed that firing had
been initiated by India and that an Indian drone had been brought down
by Pakistan.
Jaishankar said there was also an infiltration
attempt by three suspected terrorists on Thursday afternoon in the Jammu
sector and they were given covering fire by Pakistani forces which was
effectively retaliated.
Jaishankar said in his meeting with Raghavan, the Pakistan foreign secretary handed over a note verbale.
Referring
to the issue of drone, Jaishankar said its photograph indicated that it
was neither of Indian design nor of any UAV category held in the
inventory of the Indian armed forces. "It appears to be of Chinese
design, and is commercially available off the shelf."
Answering a
query about the Indian forces carrying out operation along border with
Myanmar last month, he said: "What is happening on western border, I
don't see any connection with what happened on Indo-Myanmar border."
Thursday's
protests were registered just days after bonhomie between Prime
Ministers Narendra Modi and Nawaz Sharif in Russian city of Ufa.