The Foreign Office (FO) on Saturday summoned a senior Indian diplomat to register Pakistan's "strong protest" over the latest ceasefire violations by Indian border forces along the Line of Control (LoC), which left two women injured a day earlier.

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a tweet on Friday evening that Indian troops had initiated "unprovoked ceasefire violation" in Rakhchikri and Baroh sectors along the LoC targeting the civilian population.

"Due to [the] indiscriminate and unprovoked firing", 35-year-old Shakeela Bibi, a resident of village Kirni, and 40-year-old Nazia Bibi, a resident of village Gahi, sustained serious injuries, the FO spokesperson said in a statement.

"The Indian occupation forces along the LoC and the Working Boundary have been continuously targeting civilian populated areas with artillery fire, heavy-calibre mortars and automatic weapons," the press release noted.

According to the FO, India has committed 1,697 ceasefire violations this year to date, resulting in 14 deaths and serious injuries to 133 civilians.

Condemning the targeting of innocent civilians by Indian forces as "deplorable", the FO said the Indian envoy was conveyed that "such senseless acts are in clear violation of the 2003 Ceasefire Understanding, and are also against all established humanitarian norms and professional military conduct".

"These egregious violations of international law reflect consistent Indian attempts to escalate the situation along the LoC and are a threat to regional peace and security," the statement added.

It said that by raising tensions along the LoC and the WB, "India cannot divert attention from the grave human rights situation" in Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

The FO called upon India to respect the 2003 ceasefire agreement and to "maintain peace along the LoC and the WB" along with investigating all such violations.

It also urged India to allow the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) to play its mandated role as per United Nations Security Council resolutions.

The heavily militarised LoC that splits the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir has been witnessing skirmishes and artillery duels in a serious breach of a truce agreement that the rival armies had signed in November 2003.

Tensions between the two countries have remained high after the Hindu nationalist government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi revoked the special status of Indian-occupied Kashmir in August last year.

Last Sunday, six civilians, including a woman and her young daughter, were injured in two districts of Azad Jammu and Kashmir due to firing by Indian border troops from across the restive LoC.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1569764/pakistan-summons-indian-envoy-to-protest-loc-ceasefire-violation-that-left-2-injured