Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday said it would be very hard to save the ceasefire, which had taken years of effort to implement, if the violations along the Line of Control (LoC) and the International Border continue.
"We are saying that if the ceasefire violations continue, it will be very hard to save it. It troubles us to see the ceasefire being violated, because, it was put into place after a lot of effort. We want it to be respected, so that the people living along the Line of Control (LoC), can once again go back to their lives peacefully," Abdullah said.
Abdullah appealed to the leadership of India and Pakistan to respect the ceasefire, so that those living along the LoC could return to their daily lives peacefully.
"If there is anything that the people of Jammu and Kashmir have benefited from the entire peace process, it is the ceasefire in the areas of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. The people of the region are very troubled by the repeated violation of the ceasefire," Abdullah said.
"We will attempt and demand both countries, especially Pakistan since the shelling has been from there side, that they stop the violation along the border, and restore the ceasefire agreed upon," he added.
Abdullah, who visited villages in the Samba Sector along the LoC on Friday, saluted the bravery of the people, and confirmed that they were not migrating elsewhere.
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The frontier posts in the Samba sector have repeatedly been the focus of Pakistani attack, as the ceasefire continues to be breached despite assurances from Prime Minister Sharif that his country wants peace and tranquility along the LoC.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, on Thursday expressed his disappointment regarding the increased number of violations along the Line of Control and the International Border despite gaining assurance from the Pakistani leadership of their intent to respect the cease-fire in September this year.
Dr. Singh also said that he hoped that his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif at this 'late hour' would realize that border violations were detrimental for both countries.
On Tuesday, Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde visited Samba and Hiranagar sectors of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday to review the security situation on Line of Control (LoC), in the light of the increasing number of violations along the border, and promised stern action against the culprits.
In the September 29 talks between Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif, both sides had agreed that improving the situation on the LoC is the 'precondition' to 'forward movement' in the India- Pakistan relationship.
