India protests killing of soldiers; mutilation of body

India today strongly protested to Pakistan the killing of its soldiers and the mutilation of the body of one of them when its Deputy High Commissioner was summoned by the Foreign Office here to condemn "unprovoked ceasefire violations".

Indian Deputy High Commissioner J P Singh, who was called in by Director General (South Asia and SAARC) Mohammad Faisal, also conveyed that Pakistani troops were deliberately targeting the civilian areas, resulting in heavy casualties.

Singh lodged a strong protest over the killing of Indian soldiers with the body of one of them being mutilated in second such incident in less than a month.

Three soldiers were killed today in an ambush on army patrol which took place in Machhil sector of Kashmir following which the Indian army vowed heavy "retribution".

Singh also protested yesterday's killing of two Indian soldiers.

Sources said he also took up the issue of repeated ceasefire violations by Pakistani forces as well as their usage of artillery and 120 mm heavy mortars.

Pakistani forces were giving cover fire to infiltrators and there was increased activity of terrorists near the Pakistani posts, Singh told the Pakistani side.

Faisal, on his part, strongly condemned the "unprovoked ceasefire violations on 21 November 2016", by the Indian forces on the LoC in Jandrot, Nikial, Karela and Baroh sectors, resulting in the death of four civilians and injuries to 10 others.

The Director General also condemned the alleged violation of Pakistan's Maritime Exclusive Economic Zone by the Indian Naval Submarine on November 14, 2016, in violation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), a Pakistan Foreign Office statement said.

Faisal urged the Indian side to respect the 2003 ceasefire understanding and UNCLOS, "investigate the continued incidents of violations and instruct the Indian forces/authorities to respect the ceasefire and international borders, in letter and spirit," it added.