Pakistan, India agree to end firing along disputed Kashmir border
Pakistan and India have agreed to strictly observe a ceasefire along the de facto border in disputed Kashmir, following months of clashes between the two countries.
“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,” a joint statement said on Thursday, according to AFP.
India and Pakistan have accused each other of being responsible for ceasefire violations. The two sides regularly exchange fire along the ceasefire line known as the Line of Control (LoC) that has separated the two countries for decades.
The joint statement said the armies of the two nations held talks “in a free, frank and cordial atmosphere.”
An Indian official voiced optimism that violence levels along the LoC will come down, Reuters reported.
The cessation was partly aimed at easing the fraught situation for civilians along the border, the official added.
Pakistan’s military says some 1.7 million civilians live along the LoC and increasingly depend on bunkers during ongoing clashes.
A disputed territory, Kashmir has been split between India and Pakistan since their acrimonious partition in 1947. The countries have fought two wars over the region since then.
Pakistan’s foreign office says the Indian forces killed at least 28 civilians and wounded 257 more in Kashmir last year.
Back in August 2019, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi revoked the limited autonomy of the Muslim-majority region, followed by the imposition of harsh movement restrictions and mass arrests by Indian authorities in the area.
Modi’s Hindu nationalist government promised the move would bring peace and prosperity to Kashmir. Pakistan, however, maintains that the move is a violation of the rights of Kashmiri people.
Ex-detainee held at Guantánamo Bay for two decades dies in Pakistan
Attack on foreign diplomats' convoy kills police officer in northwestern Pakistan
Iran condemns terrorist attacks in Pakistan’s Balochistan
Iranian diaspora in EU, UK deplore ban on national airline
VIDEO | Press TV's News Headlines
Israel’s military struggling with shortage of troops: Report
Iran calls for more efforts to establish peace in Gaza, Lebanon
Israel targets journalists in southern Lebanon to mask atrocities
Trump vs Harris: A choice between two deranged war hawks who cheer genocide in Gaza
Over 1,800 Palestinians killed in Israel’s month-long attacks in northern Gaza
UN official urges Egypt to seize Israel-bound arms ship MV Kathrin
PressTV NEWSLETTER
now
This makes it easy to access the Press TV website
