Simran Sodhi

New Delhi, November 17

The India-Pakistan narrative today returned to a low again with India stating that it had summoned a senior official of the Pakistan High Commission to protest against the ceasefire violations on the Line of Control (LoC). The official was summoned and issued a demarche on Wednesday, the third such demarche this month.India also stated that it has, as of now, received no official confirmation from Pakistan of its participation in the Heart of Asia Conference to be held in Amritsar next month. This was in response to queries about the indications by Sartaj Aziz, Pakistan Prime Minister’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs, that he might be attending the conference and that would provide an opportunity to defuse tension between the two neighbours.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)In a briefing today, the official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs said that Pakistani forces had committed 12 ceasefire violations between November 9 and 15 this year alone and alleged that the Pakistan Army had “deliberately resorted to calibre escalation by employing artillery and 120 millimetre heavy mortars against Indian posts. These violent acts constitute a clear violation of the Ceasefire Agreement of 2003”.India, in its demarche to Pakistan, has also pointed out that there has been an increase in concentration of terrorists observed along the LoC and during the last week alone there have been ten instances when terrorists have attempted to cross over from Pakistan. India also protested to Pakistan the “deliberate” targeting by the Pakistan army of 14 villages along the LoC this month, which has resulted in four fatal and 25 non-fatal casualties.  India raised its concerns about the safety of sepoy Chandu Babulal Chavan, who “inadvertently” crossed the LoC over a month ago, and sought his early and safe repatriation. 

What it means

• Demarche is a word coined by the diplomatic community and refers to a strongly worded warning by one country to another
• India on Wednesday summoned a senior official of the Pakistan High Commission and protested repeated ceasefire violations on the Line of Control
• India also told Pakistan that there has been a rise in concentration of terrorists along the LoC as well as in incidents of infiltration attempts