India, Pakistan Hold Brigade Commander-Level Meeting at Poonch-Rawalkote Crossing Point to Augment Confidence-Building Measure

Poonch, November 23: A Brigade Commander-level flag meeting was held between the Indian Army and the Pakistan Army today at Poonch-Rawalkote Crossing Point. The meeting focussed on augmenting confidence-building measures and maintaining peace along the line of control (LoC), and prevention of infiltration from Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK). Brigadier VS Sekhon led the Indian delegation, while the Pakistani delegation was headed by Brigadier Qaiser. The flag meeting was held in a friendly and cordial atmosphere. Both the sides are agreed to follow the 2003 Ceasefire agreement.

Earlier this year, on May 29, Director Generals of Military Operations (DGMOs) of India and Pakistan established a special hotline contact. Both the sides reviewed the prevailing situation along the LoC and the International Border and agreed to implement the agreement fully. The Agreement was drafted by the then Pakistan Prime Minister of Pakistan, Zafarullah Jamali, on 23 November 2003 on the eve of the Eid-al-Fitr. India gave acceptance to the agreement just a few days after Jamali’s proposal.

On November 12, an Indian Army soldier lost his life sniper fire by Pakistani soldiers in Mendhar sector of Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district. Meanwhile, on November 11, another army jawan was killed by a Pakistani sniper along the LoC in Rajouri district. The number of ceasefire violations this year by Pakistan has been the highest in the past eight years. The first seven months of this year saw 52 deaths and 232 people getting injured in 1,435 ceasefire violations in the state, according to an RTI reply by the Home Ministry.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 23, 2018 04:11 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).