6 ceasefire violations since February pact, Centre reveals; reiterates stance on Pakistan

In a heartening development on Tuesday, the Centre informed Parliament that the incidents of ceasefire violations by Pakistan drastically dropped post the February 25 pact. Amid relentless ceasefire violations by Pakistan, the Director Generals of Military Operations of both countries had reviewed the situation in a "free, frank and cordial" atmosphere and agreed to strictly observe all agreements and stop firing from February 25. As per the data quoted by Union MoS Home Affairs Nityanand Rai, only 6 incidents of cross border firing were reported from March to June in contrast to 615 ceasefire violations in the first 2 months of 2021. 

Here is the full data of ceasefire violations: 

This was revealed in a response to an unstarred question by Lok Sabha MPs Asaduddin Owaisi and Krishna Pal Singh Yadav. At the same time, Rai added, "Government’s consistent position has been that India desires normal neighbourly relations with Pakistan and is committed to addressing issues, if any, bilaterally and peacefully in an atmosphere free of terror, hostility and violence. The onus is on Pakistan to create such a conducive atmosphere by taking credible, verifiable and irreversible action to not allow any territory under its control to be used for cross-border terrorism against India in any manner". 

Pakistan's flip-flop on bilateral ties

A day before the joint statement of the DGMOs of the two nations, Pakistan PM Imran Khan had publicly stressed on resolving differences with India via dialogue. Softening the brash tone further, Imran Khan told participants at the recently held Islamabad Security Dialogue that India can benefit from more trade and connectivity to Central Asia if both nations resolve their issues. Speaking at the same event, Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa maintained that it is time to bury the past and move forward. 

But, there was a setback when the Pakistan Cabinet rejected the proposal of the Economic Coordination Committee to import sugar, cotton and yarn from India. While Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told a Pakistani news channel in an interview on May 7 that the abrogation of Article 370 is India's internal matter, he took a U-turn after facing flak from the opposition. Since then, Imran Khan has harked back to his rhetorical narrative by asserting that his government will not talk to India unless it reverses the steps taken on August 5, 2019, including the abrogation of Article 370 and revocation of statehood.