New Delhi/Islamabad, Jan 9: Pakistan Wednesday denied involvement of its troops in an attack in which two Indian soldiers were killed and said it was prepared to hold investigations through the UN Military Observer Group on the recent ceasefire violations on the Line of Control (LoC).
Asserting that it was committed to a constructive, sustained and result-oriented process of engagement with India, Pakistan said it was “important that both sides make serious efforts in maintaining this improvement and avoid negative propaganda”.
The Pakistan High Commission came out with a statement in this regard shortly after India summoned its High Commissioner Salman Bashir here to lodge protest on the killing of two of its soldiers along LoC in Mendhar sector of Jammu and Kashmir.
Pakistan “strongly rejects the Indian allegation of an attack across the LoC on its military patrol in which two Indian soldiers were claimed to have been killed. These are baseless and unfounded allegations,” the statement said.
“Pakistan is prepared to hold investigations through the United Nations Military Observer Group for India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) on the recent ceasefire violations on the Line of Control,” the statement said.
Pakistan remains committed to the ceasefire agreement of 2003 which was an important Confidence Building Measure and should be respected in letter and spirit, it said, adding it also urges the need for abiding and strengthening existing military mechanisms to ensure that there was no recurrence of such violations in future.
“Pakistan is committed to a constructive, sustained and result-oriented process of engagement with India. We have made significant progress in the dialogue process. Pakistan has taken a number of steps to normalize and improve bilateral relations. It is important that both sides make serious efforts in maintaining this improvement and avoid negative propaganda,” the statement added.

PAK MILITARY REJECTS INDIA’S CONTENTION
Meanwhile, Pakistani military also rejected India's contention that its troops had attacked an Indian patrol and killed two soldiers, claiming that it had carried out ground verification and “found nothing of this sort happened.”
The Pakistani side conveyed this during a phone conversation between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of the two sides.
A Pakistani military official, who did not want to be named, said Pakistan's DGMO Maj Gen Ashfaq Nadeem talked to his Indian counterpart Lt Gen Vinod Bhatia on a hotline and rejected the Indian army's "allegations of cross-LoC firing by Pakistani troops and killing any Indian soldier.”
“The Indian authorities were informed that Pakistan has carried out ground verification and checked and found nothing of this sort happened as is being alleged by India,” the military official said.
“It is mere propaganda by the Indian army,” the official claimed.
The Pakistani military had yesterday also rejected the Indian army's contention that Pakistani troops had killed two Indian soldiers after crossing the Line of Control, saying the accusation was aimed at diverting attention from another incident over the weekend.
India and Pakistan put in place a ceasefire along the LoC in late 2003.
The truce has, by and large, held for the past nine years though there was a spurt in violations during 2012.
The two latest incidents were among the rare ceasefire violations in which lives were lost.

Lastupdate on : Wed, 9 Jan 2013 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Wed, 9 Jan 2013 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Thu, 10 Jan 2013 00:00:00 IST