India And Pakistan Agree to ‘Fully Implement’ 2003 Ceasefire Pact, Likely Relief In Border Areas

India and Pakistan have agreed to restore peace along the Line of Control (LoC) and International Border (IB) by following the norms of 2003 ceasefire agreement, reports say.

On Tuesday (29 May), the Director General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of India and Pakistan agreed to “fully implement” the 2003 pact in “letter and spirit” that is expected to immediately bring into effect a stop to cross-border firings in Jammu and Kashmir. They also agreed that if there is any “issue”, it would be resolved through the hotline and border flag meetings.

The resolution comes shortly after India’s decision to unilaterally suspend counter-insurgency operations during Ramzan. The agreement is expected to bring relief for residents living in border areas. As per a recent report, about 90,000 people on Jammu border have been displaced due to repeated shelling from Pakistan.

In a statement, Indian Army said, “Both the DGMOs agreed to fully implement the Ceasefire Understanding of 2003 in letter and spirit forthwith and to ensure that henceforth the ceasefire will not be violated by both sides.”

On the other hand, a statement by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistan Army, said, “Both DGMOs reviewed the prevailing situation along the Line of Control and Working Boundary and mutually agreed to undertake sincere measures to improve the existing situation ensuring peace and avoidance of hardships to the civilians along the borders.”

The ceasefire violations in the five months of 2018 have reportedly broken all records since 2003. More than 1,250 such violations have been recorded so far. This is much more compared to previous years. There were 971 violations in 2017, 449 in 2016, and 405 in 2015, as per data by Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

It is waiting to seen how much the pact is really honoured in “letter and spirit” in the coming days.