With India viewing Pakistan's complaint to the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) on exchange of incessant firing and shelling as an attempt to internationalise the Kashmir issue, New Delhi on Tuesday toughened its position and put on hold the flag meeting between the two armies. Sources here believe that with Pakistan complaining to the UN military mission rather than banking on a bilateral mechanism, the government will watch its next move.
During the course of the day especially after union home minister Rajnath Singh made a sharp attack on Pakistan at an election rally at Latur in Maharashtra, the home ministry officials decided to put the proposal for the flag meeting on hold, the sources said.
In a stern warning to Pakistan, Singh asked it to put an end to firing and ceasefire violations along the border in Jammu and Kashmir saying if such breach continues, the army and every youth of this country will give a befitting reply.
Defence minister Arun Jaitely, recuperating from a surgery, held separate meetings with defence secretary Radha Krishna Mathur and three service chiefs to take stock of the situation and assess military preparedness. The firing so far has claimed six civilians from Indian side and injuring 50 others in Arnia belt along the International Border and in Poonch region along the Line of Control.
"The Border Security Force has been asked to put on hold the proposal for flag meeting with Pakistan. India has now decided to wait for Pakistan to make the first move," a government source here said. Reports said Pakistan has fired at 40 Indian outposts in Jammu and Kashmir.
Earlier, a telephonic conversation between two senior military officers at the directorate of military operations (DGMO) failed to achieve any breakthrough, with both sides accusing each other of violating the ceasefire. The brigadier-level officers talked over hotline for five minutes. Government sources here made it clear that it was not a regular and normal weekly telephonic talk that takes place between the directors general of military operations — a Lt General-rank officer from Indian side and a Maj General-rank officer from Pakistani side. In last August, after the interaction between the DGMOs, the two sides had agreed to hold flag meetings at army and BSF levels to defuse the situation. The outburst had led shifting of 15,000 villagers temporarily in the peak agriculture season.
The Border Security Force has submitted a report on the ceasefire violations to the home ministry. Government sources said that it was clear that infiltration attempts were underway.
Only in December last year, India and Pakistan had pledged to uphold the 2003 LoC ceasefire agreement, which had allowed thousands of villagers to return to their homes and claim agriculture land. The DGMOs of the two countries had agreed to a number of steps to keep the ceasefire accord intact.
India doesn't recognise
UNMOGIP
India doesn't allow the UN mission known as UNMOGIP to inquire violations from its side. Last year in January also Pakistan had complained to the UN group, but its inquiries didn't yield much. An UNMOGIP official stationed in Srinagar did not provide further details of the Pakistani complaint, but said they will try to visit the affected areas.
UNMOGIP observers have been located at the ceasefire line between India and Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir since 1949. Currently, there are 39 military observers in Kashmir, 25 international civilian personnel and 48 local civilian staff led by Major General Delali Johnson Sakyi of Ghana. Since Shimla agreement, when both countries committed to sort out issues bilaterally and converted the ceasefire line into Line of Control, with clear demarcation on ground, India stopped recognising the role of UNMOGIP.
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