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Rediff.com  » News » Indian troops violated ceasefire: Pak

Indian troops violated ceasefire: Pak

By K J M Varma in Islamabad
January 24, 2005 21:01 IST
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Pakistan on Monday accused Indian troops of violating the 13-month-long ceasefire.

"The Indian troops fired at Pakistani troops positioned at the Mendhar sector in Poonch from 1500 to 1800 IST," Foreign Office spokesman Masood Khan claimed.

"Pakistani troops observed restraint and did not fire back. There was no damage to life or property in the incident," he told media persons in Islamabad.

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This is the first time that Pakistan has accused India of violating the ceasefire.

However, India has rejected the allegation. "We investigated this allegation and the report was found to be baseless," External Affairs Ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna told media persons.

He said Pakistan's Director General of Military Operations had raised the issue with his Indian counterpart during their regular conversation.

The allegation may have been due to 'lack of communication' at Pakistan's end, he added.

Responding to India blaming Pakistani troops of opening fire on January 18, Khan said, "There were some incidents inside Kashmir. We have clarified that we have not violated the ceasefire." Similar allegations were made by India again on January 20 and Pakistan informed India that it was not involved in the incidents, he said.

Pakistan did not believe there were any 'ulterior motives' on the Indian part to sabotage the peace process, Khan said.

He said it was incumbent on India to inquire such incidents and inform Pakistan.

The Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman denied any 'link' between the reported violations and Pakistan's decision to approach the World Bank on the Baglihar issue.

Pakistan filed its reference on Baglihar hydropower project being constructed in Jammu and Kashmir on January 18 and India reported the first ceasefire violation on that day.

"It is unfortunate. We saw an artificial correlation between the Baglihar issue and the so-called ceasefire violations that was uncalled for."

He claimed there was a media campaign against Pakistan accusing it of violating the ceasefire.

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K J M Varma in Islamabad