U.N. urges India, Pakistan to de-escalate tensions through dialogue

An Army man works near the Line of Control, in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday.

The U.N. has urged India and Pakistan to respect the ceasefire and “de-escalate” tensions over the recent cross-border firings through dialogue.

The United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) made the plea even as it received a complaint from Pakistan which claimed that the Indian troops had allegedly crossed the Line of Control(LoC) and “raided” a border post on January 6. India has denied it has crossed the LoC.

“UNMOGIP is aware that the Pakistan Army and Indian Army are in contact via the Hotline and urges both sides to respect the ceasefire and de-escalate tensions through dialogue,” the U.N. observer force said in an emailed statement to

PTI . The ceasefire has been in place along the LoC since 2003.

However, “no official complaint has been received either from the Pakistan Army or Indian Army” regarding the January 8 clash in which two Indian soldiers were killed, it said.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s spokesperson Martin Nesirky said at the daily briefing on Wednesday that the U.N. observer mission had not received any complaint from either side over the January 8 clash.

“Regarding the 6 January alleged incident, the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan, or UNMOGIP, has received an official complaint from the Pakistan Army and will conduct an investigation as soon as possible in accordance with its mandate,” the observer group added.

An UNMOGIP official did not provide further details of the complaint, saying that the mission “is not in position to distribute communications between member states and the U.N.”

The Pakistani mission to the U.N. did not respond to queries from PTI seeking comment on the complaint to UNMOGIP.

Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated after two Indian soldiers Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh and Lance Naik Hemraj were brutally killed by Pakistani troops on January 8, which India has described as “highly provocative.”

The attack took place along the LoC in Poonch district when the Pakistani troops entered into Indian territory and assaulted a patrol party. The bodies of the two Indian soldiers were mutilated by Pakistani troops.

UNMOGIP observers have been located at the ceasefire line between India and Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir since 1949 and supervise the ceasefire between the two countries.

Currently there are 39 military observers in Kashmir, 25 international civilian personnel and 48 local civilian staff.