India on Tuesday summoned Pakistan Deputy High Commissioner Syed Haider Shah and issued him a demarche over the killing of three children in yet another ceasefire violation from the Pakistani side on Monday.
"Pakistan Deputy High Commissioner Syed Haider Shah was summoned today and a strong protest was lodged at the death of three Indian minor children in unprovoked ceasefire violation by the Pakistan forces in the Poonch sector on October 2," the External Affairs Ministry said in a statement.
"It was conveyed that such deliberate targeting of civilians was not acceptable and was against humanitarian norms and practices," it added.
According to the statement, India also expressed strong concern over the continued unprovoked firing by Pakistan forces across the Line of Control and the international boundary in violation of the 2003 ceasefire understanding.
"Five hundred and three such violations have been carried out by Pakistan forces so far during 2017," the statement said.
The Border Security Force (BSF) launched Operation Arjun following intermittent firing and ceasefire violations from across the border in Jammu region, following which Pakistani forces spoke to the Indian side and sought peace along the border.
In a media interaction here last month, BSF Director Generel K.K. Sharma said the Pakistani forces initiated firing around August 24-25 during which a BSF trooper lost his life.
"We retaliated by firing both flat trajectory and area weapons," he said referring to Operation Arjun.
He said the violations went on and another trooper was killed by a sniper while a woman also lost her life and several BSF troopers and civilians were also injured.
The BSF guards the international border with Pakistan south of the Chenab while on the north, along the Line of Control (LoC), it works under the operational control of the Indian Army.
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