Pakistan’s military says there is “no space for war” with its eastern neighbour India, calling upon its regional rival to respect a reiterated commitment to a ceasefire in the disputed region of Kashmir made last week.
Speaking at a press briefing on Monday, Pakistani military spokesperson Major-General Asif Ghafoor said he wished for all issues between the nuclear-armed neighbours to be resolved through dialogue.
“War is a failure of diplomacy,” he said. “We are two nuclear states, there is no space for war. So dialogue continues. India has always been the one to back out from dialogue, not Pakistan.
India and Pakistan, partitioned when the Indian subcontinent gained independence from the British in 1947, have fought two of their three wars over the disputed northern region of Kashmir, which both claim in full but administer separate portions.
Pakistan and India-administered Kashmir are divided by the Line of Control (LoC), a boundary along which both sides have massed military personnel. A ceasefire was signed in 2003, but has been frequently violated in recent years.
This year, Indian forces fired upon targets on the Pakistani side of the Line of Control at least 1,577 times, Ghafoor alleged, killing 48 people and wounding more than 265.
India’s foreign ministry says Pakistan has violated the ceasefire at least 1,088 times in 2018, killing 36 people and wounding 127 others.
On May 29, the Indian and Pakistani militaries renewed their commitment to the 2003 ceasefire, according to statements released by both.
“Both [senior military officers] also agreed that in case of any issue, restraint will be exercised and the matter will be resolved through utilisation of existing mechanisms of hotline contacts and border flag meetings at local commander’s level,” a Pakistani statement said.
Sporadic firing, however, has continued on both sides.
Source – AL JEZEERA