Indian, Pakistani Armies Hold Cross-Border Talks Amidst Deadly Shelling
20:42 22.09.2017(updated 23:39 22.09.2017)
After a week of heavy cross-border shelling between Indian and Pakistani forces, the directors general of military operations (DGMOs) of both armies held a crucial meeting on Friday.
New Delhi (Sputnik) – That meeting unfortunately made no headway, as both sides accused each other of violating the ceasefire. Pakistan alleged that shelling by Indian troops resulted in the death of six Pakistani civilians and injured 30. The Indian side vehemently denied having deliberately fired at civilians.
"DGMO-level talks on behest of Pak DGMO was held on September 22. During the talks the Pak DGMO raised the issue of targeting of Pakistani civilians opposite the Jammu sector," the Indian Army said in a statement on Friday.
The Indian Army has claimed that the Border Security Force only started firing when armed intruders attempted to infiltrate the Amritsar border from Pakistani posts in close proximity. "[The] Indian Army is a professional Army and reserves the right to retaliate appropriately to any incident leading to loss of life of our troops," statement added.
"Indian DGMO, in response, highlighted that all ceasefire violations in the Jammu Sector were initiated by Pakistan Rangers and the Indian Border Security Force troops deployed only responded appropriately to them," it added further.
Meanwhile, Indian police in the state of Jammu and Kashmir said that four civilians were injured on Friday as the armies of India and Pakistan engaged in heavy firing and shelling; 727 civilians were evacuated from residential areas in response.
© Sputnik
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