Ceasefire violations along the LoC: War of words between India, Pakistan matches shootings on ground

Deep winter is usually not the time for a spike in violence along the LoC. Not so this year. The mood in India indicates that the LoC can become a line of fire again.

A soldier monitors the Line of Control (LOC) in Kashmir. (File Photo)

NEW DELHI: Indian Army sources claimed this morning that seven Pakistani soldiers were killed in firing across the Line of Control after the Pakistan Army violated ceasefire at Mendhar. The Pakistan government tweeted that four soldiers were killed. Pakistan Army sources also claimed that three Indian soldiers were killed, a claim denied by India.

Islamabad on Monday summoned the Indian Deputy High Commissioner, J P Singh, and condemned “the unprovoked ceasefire violation by the Indian occupation forces, using heavy mortars.” Apart from four soldiers killed, five others were also injured, Pakistan’s ministry of foreign affairs said in a statement. It said that this year alone (in just two weeks) Indian forces have carried out more than 100 ceasefire violations.

The increase in the intensity of firing across the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir coincides with statements made by the Indian army chief, General Bipin Rawat, on Friday and again this morning that the Pakistan army would be targeted till it rolled back support to infiltrating militants.

The firing was most intense last night (February 14-15) in the Mendhar sector. Pakistani army sources said that four soldiers were killed at Jandrot in Kotli sector. “The troops were busy in line communication maintenance when they were fired upon and hit by heavy mortar round by Indian forces,” the Pakistan government tweeted from its official handle. The Pakistan Army’s Kotli sector is opposite India’s Mendhar.

While mortar shells can kill, both the Indian and Pakistani forces have thousands of bunkers on the live border that is the LoC. Killing seven soldiers in one go may have necessitated the use of a direct firing weapon. Mortars are indirect firing, meaning the target may not always be sighted.

“Pakistan Army has been continuously trying to help terrorists sneak into India along LoC in Jammu and Kashmir. We are using our might to teach them a lesson,” General Rawat said this morning after taking the salute at the traditional Army Day parade. India is celebrating the 70th Army Day.

“Disputes along the Line of Actual Control in northern border (China) are continuing and transgressions are taking place. We are working to stop them,” he said.

Technically, India and Pakistan are observing a ceasefire along the LoC and the Siachen Glacier since 2003. In reality, however, firing is almost a daily affair. However, so far the armies have refrained from using heavy calibre weapons, like the Bofors 155mm, beyond the 120mm mortar, and usually use small arms. But the rhetoric from India, that is also being matched by Pakistan, may put both sides on an escalatory ladder.

The Pakistan military’s Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) warned that India would be foolish to test Pakistan’s nuclear weaponry. This was after General Rawat said on Friday that if there is a political command to cross the border “I think we will call their nuclear bluff”. The ISPR said that Pakistan considers its nuclear arsenal to be a deterrent.

The war of words is being matched by the shooting on the ground. Though the ceasefire is being violated frequently, the LoC is still some distance from reaching the pre-2003 situation when there was no war but there was no peace either. Between 1999, the year of the Kargil war, and October 2003, heavy artillery firing by both India and Pakistan was common.

Since 2016, the frequency and intensity of firing has increased manifold. On December 19, the government told Parliament that Pakistan had violated the ceasefire 771 times in 2017. Pakistan claimed that India violated the ceasefire 1300 times in 2017.

This year has opened with seven soldiers being killed in Indian firing. In addition, near Uri in Kashmir, Indian troops killed five militants who were attempting to cross the Jhelum river into India.

Deep winter is usually not the time for a spike in violence along the LoC. Not so this year. The mood in India indicates that the LoC can become a line of fire again.

“Our ceasefire violations are only in counter-terror operations,” Rawat said on Friday. “But we see that terrorists are a disposable commodity for the Pakistan army. Unless the Pakistan Army is hurt it will not stop infiltration. Even they will respond with violations. But I can assure you that their casualties are higher. If we see a drop in infiltration we are willing to consider and absolute ceasefire and go back to the 2003 situation. The army has been told to conduct operations in the manner we deem fit,” he said.