Friday, January 18, 2013

Armies of India and Pakistan agree to maintain border peace

Nepal News.Net Wednesday 16th January, 2013

The militaries of the two nations had been locked in a bitter exchange of fire since early this week after five soldiers were killed, an Indian army spokesman said.

The bitter boundary stand-off had threatened the uneasy India-Pakistan ties with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday threatening it cannot be "business as usual" with Islamabad.

But the tension seemed easing on Wednesday as there were no fresh reports of cross border firing after military commanders spoke over phone.

The two armies agreed not to violate the 2003 ceasefire on the Line of Control (LoC) the de facto boundary that divides disputed Himalayan state of Jammu and Kashmir between India and Pakistan.

"The DGMOs (Director General of Military Operations) of India and Pakistan had a 10 minute talk in the morning and agreed not to violate the ceasefire and exercise maximum restraint," the spokesman said.

The DGMOs agreed not to allow the situation along the LoC to escalate, he added.

The standoff between the armies of the two countries had left three Pakistani soldiers and two Indian army men dead. India alleged one of its soldiers was beheaded and the head had been taken away by Pakistani soldiers.

The series of attacks had threatened to ratchet up tension and freeze ties between the two neighbours.

India had strongly voiced its protest over the killings and also summoned the Pakistani envoy in New Delhi.

India also held back the Visa on Arrival agreement for senior Pakistani citizens and Pakistani hockey players for the Indian Hockey League were asked to return Tuesday.

The Pakistani army Wednesday protested to India over the alleged killing of one of its soldiers in Kashmir.

Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar speaking at an event in Washington accused India of "warmongering" and riding on the "narrative of hostility".

"I thought warmongering was a thing of past and we had put it behind us," she said.

"I am happy that we are not responding in kind either by word or by action."

She stressed on the need to continue peace dialogue between India and Pakistan and said: "We should not close the door. The dialogue should be uninterrupted and uninterruptible. That is what mature countries do."

Source: http://www.nepalnews.net/index.php/sid/211980859/scat/bf053b50c46383e0

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