Pakistan and India are negotiating measures to de-escalate tensions on the Working Boundary and the LoC, after Indian army pleaded with Pakistan to put an end to the rounds of artillery fire. India has suffered severe losses in the retaliatory attack launched by the Pakistan army on the Line of Control, it has emerged.
The development comes amid report that the two nuclear-armed rivals were once again engulfed in a border skirmish on Monday.
The civil-military dispensation in Islamabad-Rawalpindi has not yet commented on India’s request.
Reports suggest that the communication channels that were discarded during the border skirmishes in February might have been reinstated once again. Only last week, Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary, Dr. Sohail Mehmood, had a long meeting with India’s High Commissioner, Ajay Bisaria, at the Foreign Office, and analysts believe the two neighbors held important discussions on de-escalation and peace-building.
However, no details of the meeting have been revealed to the press, but New Delhi’s request to put an end to the artillery use does indicate India’s willingness to put an end to the standoff.
The use of artillery between India and Pakistan along the Line of Control intensified after 28th February, when Pakistan shot down two Indian fighter jets and captured one Indian Wing Commander, Abhinandan, who was returned by Prime Minister Imran Khan the next day.
However, despite returning the captured pilot, the India-Pakistan border witnessed a “massive exchange” of fire. The DG ISPR’s press conference on 29th April, revealed many Indian posts in Indian-occupied Kashmir were destroyed by Pakistan retaliatory fire. Media sources reveal that Pakistan’s befitting response claimed the lives of 34 Indian soldiers.
During his presser, Director General Inter Services Public Relations, (ISPR) Major-General Asif Ghafoor, had stated that Pakistan’s retaliatory response on 28th February forced the Indian forces to alter their positions.
