Armies of India, Pakistan agree to ceasefire along LoC from Feb 24 midnight

After a glorious strategic victory over China on the Ladakh Indo-China border issue. One more victory has added to India on the India- Pakistan border issue. Armies of India and Pakistan agree to a ceasefire along LoC from February 24/25 midnight. This move comes at that time when the Indian military is largely engaged with the Chinese PLA on LAC in Ladakh. As we know a standoff situation has emerged in the Ladakh sector in May last year but disengagement has started and phase-1 of the disengagement process from Pang-gong Lake was completed by the armies of the two nations and further disengagement is underway at other friction points.

Indian Army Chief General Naravane has called it a win-win situation. He said, “What we have achieved will be a very good end result. India has put systems in place to make sure that there is no re-occupation of these heights and it is part of the agreement. After this great strategic victory on China, this sudden development on Indo- Pskistan Border has surprised everyone. A DGMO level talk has occurred between the two countries. After that both DGMOs have issued a joint statement that they will follow the agreement between two countries (ceasefire violation agreement- 2003).”

After this surprising development, the big question is- does Pakistan really want peace with India or the U-Turn of China on Ladakh has created a fearful situation for Pakistan as Prime minister of Pakistan Imran Khan has also given a big statement in his Sri Lanka visit that, “we are making a way to build up a strong peaceful relation with India.”

Although this is not the first time when Pakistan has promised a cease-fire agreement but Pakistan always believe in a breach of trust.

As per the official data of ceasefire violation done by Pakistan especially after the Modi Government, we find that the percentage and the numbers have increased every year after 2014. Data says that in the year 2021 till February 1, more than 300 times with one causality had been reported after the ceasefire violation by Pakistan. The highest number of ceasefire violation by Pakistan was in the year 2020 after the 2003 truce. There were 5100 instances of ceasefire violations by Pakistan in the year 2020 along the border of J&K in which 36 lost their lives including 24 security personals and 130 people injured. The number of ceasefire violations by Pakistani troops in 2020 was over five times that of 2017 when 971 cases were reported in which 31 people — 12 civilians and 19 security forces personnel — were killed and 151 suffered injures.

There were 3289 ceasefire violations by Pakistan along the Indo- Pak border in the year 2019 of which 1565 ceasefire violation had taken place since August. After the abrogation of article 370, the intensity of ceasefire violation has increased as Pakistan reluctant to accept its revocation and to accept J&K as a union territory of India.

In 2018, Jammu and Kashmir had recorded 2,936 instances of ceasefire violations by Pakistan with an average of eight cases per day, in which 61 people were killed and over 250 injured.

In 2017, 971 cases were reported in which 31 people — 12 civilians and 19 security forces personnel — were killed and 151 suffered injures.

Before the ceasefire agreement, as many as 8,376 incidents of shelling and firing by Pakistani troops were reported in 2002. For three years – 2004, 2005 and 2006 – there was not a single such violation on the border. However, there had been a gradual increase in ceasefire violations by Pakistan since 2009. People living near the border in Jammu, Kathua, Kupwara and Baramulla, Samba, Rajouri and Poonch districts were also severely hit by firing and shelling by Pakistani troops during the year.