India, Pakistan agree to stop cross-border gunfire at Kashmir Line of Control

Feb. 25 (UPI) -- Indian and Pakistani officials on Thursday revived a cease-fire agreement along the Kashmir Line of Control that bars all shooting across the de facto border.

The region, which has been under some form of a cease-fire provision since 2003, has long been an area of tension between the two countries. In November, four Indian army soldiers and three militants were killed in fighting near the disputed LoC.

"On relations with Pakistan, as we have said earlier, India desires normal neighborly relations with Pakistan," Indian external affairs ministry spokesman Anurag Srivastava said in a report by the Times of India.

"We have always maintained we are committed to addressing these issues, if any, in a peaceful and bilateral manner."

The Line of Control is a de facto border separating Indian- and Pakistani- controlled areas of Kashmir. Some have said the zone is one of the most dangerous places in the world.

Moeed Yusuf, a special assistant to Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, called the cease-fire "very solid and positive."

"When people ask what is the [Pakistan] government's policy and what is it doing on Kashmir, and nothing is happening, they should realize that such things are done behind the scenes," Yusuf said in the Hindustan Times. "Lots of effort is being made.

"This is our success and the success of diplomacy and, God willing, more roads will open in the future."

Since 2003, there have been 3,500 cease-fire violations that resulted in more than 300 deaths and hundreds of injures, with most occurring between 2014 and 2021.

Both sides said they want to avoid future violence along the LoC by requesting "border flag meetings" and a hotline when concerns or possible violations arise.