ISLAMABAD - Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa has said that LoC violations by India will be responded with full force, as he also stressed resolving ‘the core issue’ of Kashmir for a lasting peace in the region.

“Each violation of any kind must be responded with full force in the most effective manner,” said Gen Bajwa while talking to troops during his visit to the Line of Control (LoC) on Friday.

He directed the troops to keep the highest level of vigil at all times and said that Indian aggressive posture solely aims to divert the attention of the world from atrocities being committed by its troops in Indian-occupied Kashmir.

The army chief said that the core issue of Kashmir will have to be resolved between the two countries in the line with UN resolutions and aspirations of the people of Kashmir to achieve a lasting peace in the region.

The army chief was given a briefing on the prevailing security situation along the LoC in the wake of recent violations and escalation by Indian troops.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Gen Bajwa appreciated the troops for their operational readiness and their befitting response to the unprovoked Indian firing, in violation of the ceasefire agreement.

Commander 10 Corps Lt-Gen Malik Zafar Iqbal received the army chief on his arrival at the corps headquarters and later accompanied him to the LoC.

Gen Bajwa’s statement comes amid heightened tensions and frequent exchange of fire between the forces of the two nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours along the LoC and the Working Boundary.

With skirmishes almost on a daily basis, both sides report deaths and injuries including civilian causalities.

The two countries have been at loggerheads since the killing of a populist rebel leader Burhan Wani by the Indian occupied forces in the Valley on July 8. More than 100 protesters have lost their lives at the hands of the Indian security forces in the held-Kashmir while dozens have been blinded by the use of pellet guns.

On this side of border, at least nine people were killed and 11 others wounded last month when Indian troops targeted a passenger coaster in Azad Jammu and Kashmir near the LoC.

On November 29, shortly after assuming the command of the Pakistan Army, Gen Bajwa in an informal chat with media persons expressed the hope that the situation on the LoC would soon improve.