India commits 222 ceasefire violations so far this year: Pakistan

The Pakistani Foreign Ministry said Wednesday in a statement that India has committed 222 ceasefire violations so far this year, out of which 184 have been on the Line of Control (LoC) and 38 on the working boundary with Pakistan.

The Indian firing and shelling resulted "in the killing of 26 civilians and injuring 107 others," said the ministry.

According to the statement, Pakistan again lodged protest with Indian Deputy High Commissioner, who was summoned to the ministry, over an unprovoked ceasefire violation on Tuesday by Indian forces on the LoC in Khuiratta and Battal sectors. The latest firing killed four Pakistani civilians and injured seven others.

The ministry urged the Indian side to respect the 2003 ceasefire understanding, investigate the continued incidents of ceasefire violations, instruct the Indian forces to respect the ceasefire, in letter and spirit, stop targeting the villages and civilians and maintain peace on the LoC.

There has been escalation along the LoC, the de facto border, between the two countries in the disputed Kashmir region, since suspected militants killed 19 soldiers in an Indian army camp at the Indian-controlled Kashmir in September.

Both of the two neighbors accuse each other of the 2003 ceasefire violations.

The Pakistani military said on Tuesday that Pakistan lodged protest with UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan over killing of innocent civilians due to Indian unprovoked firing. Endit