Pakistan willing to adhere to the ceasefire on the LOC in Kashmir

New Delhi: – China has taken the prudent decision to withdraw from the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh, correcting its mistake of intrusion. Pakistan has panicked after realising that a mighty country like China had to bow in front of the Indian resolve. Therefore, Pakistan has expressed a willingness to adhere to a ceasefire on the Line of Control (LOC) in Kashmir. Director-General of Military Operations (DGMO) of the Indian and Pakistani military held talks over the hotline. It was concurred during these talks to meticulously observe the ceasefire agreed between both the countries in 2003.

A ceasefire agreement for the international border as well as the LOC in Kashmir was reached in 2003, during the tenure of Parvez Musharraf as the President of Pakistan. After this, the skirmishes between the two armies on the LOC had stopped for a long period. But in the last few years, Pakistan adopted a policy to assist terrorist infiltration in starting a new spate of terrorism in Jammu-Kashmir. Pakistan military was resorting to heavy firing on the LOC to provide cover for this terrorist infiltration. While giving information in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Home, G Kishan Reddy, clarified that Pakistan violated the ceasefire 10,752 times in the last three years.

72 soldiers and 74 civilians have been killed in these violations. Reddy also informed that 341 civilians had been injured in the violations over the last three years. Therefore, it is surprising to note that Pakistan, which was inciting India with ceasefire violations, has started feeling the need once again. But taking into account the situation in the last few months, it is exposed that Pakistan is desperate to start talks with India. A few days ago, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan claimed that he was willing to talk to India. Pakistan army chief also had proposed that the Kashmir issue can be resolved through negotiations.

Thereafter, the DGMOs of both the countries held talks over the hotline, and as per reports, both agreed on adhering to the ceasefire. China, who posed a challenge to India with intrusion on the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh, withdrew from the sector after nine months. It is public knowledge that China did not gain anything other than embarrassment, and India did not lose anything. While withdrawing the military, China wished that the BRICS conference be held in India and supported it. All the Pakistan strategy was based on the assumption that China will support it if a conflict is started with India. Therefore, the Chinese withdrawal came as a major setback for the Pakistani plans. At the same time, Pakistan economy is in shambles, and the country is on the verge of collapse. It is becoming clear that Pakistan does not have an option but to improve relations with India.

In this scenario, Pakistan has initiated steps to start discussions with India, and the discussions between DGMOs are considered the first step towards it. But the spokesman of the foreign ministry Anurag Srivastava declared that the Indian stand towards Pakistan remains unchanged despite this. Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has blurted out claims that India has felt the need to improve its relations with Pakistan while welcoming the decision for a ceasefire. Foreign Minister Qureshi bluffed on the Pakistan media that India is getting ready to talk to Pakistan because of the economic crisis due to the Coronavirus pandemic, internal challenges and the failure of the decision taken regarding Kashmir.