The director general military operations (DGMOs) of arch rivals Pakistan and India agreed on Tuesday to fully implement the ceasefire understanding of 2003 in letter and spirit and ensure that the ceasefire will not be violated by both sides in the future.The decision was made during a special hotline contact between the two DGMOs, said a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
The two military officials reviewed the prevailing situation along the Line of Control (LoC) and the Working Boundary and mutually agreed to undertake sincere measures to improve the existing situation ensuring peace and avoidance of hardships to the civilians along the borders.They also agreed that in case of any issue, restraint will be exercised from the two sides and the matter will be resolved through utilisation of existing mechanisms of hotline contacts and border flag meetings at local commander’s level.
The rapprochement was reached after weeks-long border clashes between the two forces, leaving dozens of civilians dead and as many injured along the LoC and the WB. The clashes erupted after the Indian forces martyred four members of the same family along the Working Boundary near Sialkot earlier this month.
At least 80,000 people from dozens of villages along the 200- kilometre (125-mile) long border between the Jammu region in Indian-held Kashmir and Pakistan’s Punjab province have fled their homes since then.
An Indian police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, described the flare-up as a “war-like situation” in the affected districts of Samba, R.S Pura, Akhnoor and Arnia.
The Indian and Pakistan militaries held talks last week but failed to calm one of the deadliest flare-ups this year.
