India and Pakistan on Thursday announced that they had begun observing a ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir from the midnight of February 24.
A joint statement issued by the armies of both countries said the move followed a discussion between India’s Director General of Military Operations (DGMO), Lt Gen Paramjit Singh Sangha, and his Pakistani counterpart, Maj Gen Nauman Zakaria, over their established telephone hotline, the Hindustan Times reported.
The move comes amidst India’s preoccupation with China in Ladakh sector of the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
The joint statement by the two sides said they had “reviewed the situation along the Line of Control and all other sectors in a free, frank and cordial atmosphere”.
“Both sides agreed for strict observance of all agreements, understandings and cease firing along the Line of Control and all other sectors with effect from midnight 24/25 Feb 2021,” the statement added.
The DGMOs also “agreed to address each other’s core issues and concerns which have propensity to disturb peace and lead to violence” in the interest of “achieving mutually beneficial and sustainable peace along the borders”.
The two sides further said that existing mechanisms of hotline contact and border flag meetings will be used to “resolve any unforeseen situation or misunderstanding”.
India and Pakistan had agreed along a ceasefire on the LoC in November 2003 but it has been frequently violated in recent years.
On Wednesday, the Indian Army chief, Gen MM Naravane, had said India wants peace and tranquillity along all its borders, be it the LAC, LoC or the frontier with Myanmar.
“With our continuous engagement with Pakistan, we will be able to prevail over them (for border peace)…as unsettled borders help no one,” he told a virtual seminar.
Naravane, however, said terror launchpads were active across the LoC, and the army will be prepared for a fresh influx of infiltrators in the summer.
Source: News18