Pakistan accuses India of ceasefire violations, says New Delhi turned down Islamabad's 'message for peace'

Islamabad: Pakistan on Saturday accused India of turning down its “message for peace” by refusing to stop ceasefire violations. Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Faisal claimed that Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif in a letter to his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj had urged for calm and respect for the 2003 ceasefire agreement. [caption id=“attachment_4242535” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP[/caption] “India has responded to the letter and instead of accepting our message for peace once again repeated old allegation of cross border incursions and refused to stop violations,” the spokesperson said. Faisal also said that India was not ready for independent verification of its allegations or accept Pakistan’s proposal to give proper access to the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP). India maintains that the UNMOGIP has outlived its utility and is irrelevant after the Simla Agreement and the consequent establishment of the Line of Control (LoC). Faisal alleged that India was using cross border attacks to divert attention from the issue of Kashmir. Pakistan on Saturday had summoned Indian Deputy High Commissioner JP Singh to protest against alleged firing by India across the Line of Control that killed two people. The Foreign Office (FO) in Islamabad said the incident occurred on Friday when Indian troops fired at a group of people in Chaffar village of Chirikot Sector. The villagers had gathered for funeral of a local resident. The firing killed two civilians and injured four others, the FO said. Director General (South Asia & SAARC) Mohammad Faisal summoned Singh and “condemned the unprovoked ceasefire violations by the Indian occupation forces,” according to a Foreign Office statement.