JAMMU: Indian and Pakistani armies held a Brigadier-level flag meeting Friday along the LoC in J&K’s Poonch, vowing to prevent breaches of a 2021 ceasefire agreement.
The talks followed several instances of Pakistani firing, followed by Indian retaliation, in the past two weeks. Two Indian soldiers were injured in these skirmishes. The last such flag meeting was held nearly five years ago.
“The meeting was held in a congenial atmosphere and lasted around 75 minutes. Both sides agreed to honour the ceasefire agreement in larger interests of peace on the borders,” an official source said about the talks in Chakkan-da-Bagh pocket of Poonch.
Ceasefire violations along the borders of J&K have been rare since the two countries renewed their agreement on Feb 25, 2021. “Recent cross-border firing in the Poonch sector was retaliated by the Indian Army with reports of heavy damage on the Pakistan side,” the source said.
The most major breaches of the truce occurred in firings from the other side of LoC on Feb 10 and 14 in Poonch and Rajouri districts, leading to the two injuries among Indian troops.
The last such meeting was also held in Poonch on March 26, 2021, just over a month after the ceasefire pact. This meeting had come after a series of statements from India and Pakistan highlighting the importance of holding peace in the region. The commanders had also discussed mechanisms to implement the ceasefire agreement.