Islamabad: Pakistan summoned the Indian Chargé d’ Affaires to the Foreign Office on Saturday, to register a “strong protest at the deliberate targeting of Observers belonging to the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP),” the foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
The UN Observers were on their way to Polas village in Azad Jammu & Kashmir to meet with the victims of Indian cease-fire violations in Chirikot when they came under fire.
Both Observers present in the vehicle were unharmed and subsequently evacuated to Rawalakot, it added.
Their vehicle sustained damage.
“The attack was unambiguously premeditated as UN vehicles are clearly recognizable even from long distances due to their distinctive marking and blue flag,” the statement said, and called it a ‘deliberate targeting.’
India has denied its part in the attack.
The Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing, also shared photos on Saturday of the damaged vehicle.
Pakistan said the attack was ‘a new low’ and ‘a grave violation’ of India’s obligations under the Council’s resolutions and the UN Charter-- which includes the obligation to ensure the safety and security of UNMOGIP Observers.
In a separate tweet on Saturday, the ISPR said the Pakistan Army stood in solidarity with UNMOGIP officials and appreciated the “selfless services rendered by all members of UNMOGIP in discharge of their UN-mandated duties.”
Tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors have been high since August 2019, when the Indian government ended the semi-autonomy of Indian-administered-Kashmiri territory under its administration.
Both countries claim Kashmir in full but administer in part.
