New Delhi, Aug 11 (PTI) There were 24 “fatal casualties of soldiers” in 2020 due to ceasefire violations from the Pakistan side, the government informed the Parliament on Friday. Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt said this in response to a query in the Lok Sabha.
Ever since the Director General of Military Operations understanding came into existence in February 2021, there have been “just three incidents of ceasefire violations and no incident of shelling along the Line of Control”. However, our troops remain prepared for all such eventualities, he said.
Bhatt was asked about the number of civilians and soldiers killed due to shelling from the Pakistan side in border areas of the country till date during the last three years.
In his response, he also shared a tabulated data, mentioning two columns “fatal casualties of soldiers” and “casualties of civilians”.
“There were 24 fatal casualties of soldiers in 2020 due to ceasefire violations, while there were 22 casualties of civilians,” according to the data shared. In 2021, there were four “fatal casualties of soldiers”, as per the data. “Appropriate retaliation to the ceasefire violations, as required, has been carried out by security forces. In addition, all violations of ceasefire are taken up with Pakistan authorities at the appropriate level through the established mechanism of hotlines, flag meetings as well as weekly talks between the Directorate Generals of Military Operations of the two countries,” Bhatt said in his response.
“Diplomatically, India has repeatedly emphasised at the highest level, the need for Pakistan to uphold the sanctity of the Line of Control (LC) and the International Border as its obligations emanating from the understanding in vogue,” the minister said.
In a separate response to another query, the MoS said Indian Army troops are sent to other countries to maintain peace under the United Nations Plan, and “159 soldiers have been killed in various countries while performing duty under the UN Peacekeeping Missions”.
Sixty-eight soldiers were killed in the United Nations Operation in the Congo & United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (ONUC & MONUSCO) Mission, according to the data shared by him.
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