Pleasant Surprise: India, Pakistan Begin Ceasefire Along LoC

New Delhi: India and Pakistan threw up a pleasant surprise on Thursday by announcing that they had begun observing a ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu & Kashmir from the midnight of February 24.

The armies of the two countries issued a joint statement in which they said that the decision was taken after a telephonic discussion between India’s Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lt Gen Paramjit Singh Sangha and Pakistan’s Maj. Gen. Nauman Zakaria over their hotline.

The two sides “reviewed the situation along the Line of Control and all other sectors in a free, frank and cordial atmosphere”.

The statement added: “Both sides agreed for strict observance of all agreements, understandings and cease firing along the Line of Control and all other sectors with effect from midnight 24/25 Feb 2021.”

The two countries also agreed to address each other’s “core issues and concerns which have propensity to disturb peace and lead to violence. The aim was to achieve “mutually beneficial and sustainable peace along the borders”.

Existing mechanisms of hotline contact and border flag meetings will be used to resolve any “unforeseen situation or misunderstanding,” the military heads agreed.

The Centre informed that there had been 10,752 ceasefire violations along the border with Pakistan over the last three years, which claimed the lives of 72 security personnel and 70 civilians.

India for decades has been subject to such proxy cross-border and relentless state-supported terrorist attacks from its neighbourhood.

India has claimed it has suffered due to cross-border and state-supported terrorist attacks from its neighbours over several years.

“Both sides agreed for strict observance of all agreements, understandings and cease firing along the Line of Control and all other sectors with effect from midnight 24/25 Feb 2021,” the statement added.

Though terrorism operations have continued in Jammu & Kashmir, the move comes at a time when India has been more focused on the standoff with China in the Ladakh region of Line of Actual Control (LAC) since May 2020.

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