Diplomats visit LoC, meet victims of Indian unprovoked firing

RAWALPINDI: Several ambassadors, diplomats, defence attachés and representatives of various countries and international organizations today (Thursday) visited Jura Sector along the Line of Control (LoC).

The delegation included representatives from Azerbaijan, Bosina the European Union, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, Palestine, Greece, Australia, Iran, Kyrgyz Republic, Iraq, UK, Italy, Poland, Uzbekistan, Germany, Switzerland, France, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Afghanistan, and the UN-World Food Programme.

The visitors also met victims of Indian shelling, spoke to young women and children affected and witnessed damaged homes, shops and protection bunkers for the civilian population.

“Human rights situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Kashmir (IIOK) is alarming,” the director-general for the Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR) Major General Babar Iftikhar told the envoys during a visit.

“Indian troops intentionally target the civilian population along the LoC. India has committed 2,333 ceasefire violations during this year,” DG ISPR added.

The DG ISPR further informed the diplomats that the Indian army used cluster ammunition along the LoC. “Pakistan Army, being a professional army, only targets military posts,” he said, adding that Indian actions were in violation of the Geneva Convention and international humanitarian law.

Maj Gen Iftikhar also urged the international community to take notice of India’s blatant violation of international laws. Referring to IoK, he said, “In IoK, the gravest human rights violations are being done.”

He said this was an attempt to divert attention from what was happening in occupied Kashmir and with minorities in India, adding that the Kashmir issue needed to be resolved according to the relevant UN resolutions.