Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif on Wednesday said 11 Indian soldiers were killed on November 14 after Pakistan Army ‘responded to unprovoked firing’.
The Pakistan Army suffered the loss of seven soldiers on the day, all casualties were sustained in the Bhimber sector of the Line of Control (LoC).
“The Indian army should man up and accept their losses,” said the chief of army staff.
He also said that unlike the Indian army, the Pakistan Army accepts and owns its casualties.
General Raheel added that the army should be credited with exemplary teamwork.
“The army has given outstanding results while defending the homeland,” added General Raheel Sharif.
He also said a message has been conveyed to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that aggressive actions will not bear any results.
Cross-border firing a new normal
Cross-border firing appears to have become a routine as tensions simmer between Pakistan and India following an alleged 'surgical strike', unrest in Kashmir and the Uri army base attack.
The Indian deputy high commissioner has been summoned to the Foreign Office several times in protest against 'unprovoked' Indian fire and loss of lives due to incidents of cross-border firing.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stepped up a drive to isolate Pakistan diplomatically after the Uri army base attack last month. Hours after the attack occurred, Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh termed Pakistan a 'terrorist state' and accused Pakistan of involvement.
The Uri attack occurred days before Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was set to address the United Nations General Assembly regarding Indian human rights violations in held Kashmir.
Following the attack, India claimed it had conducted a cross-border 'surgical strike' against 'launch pads of terror' in Azad Jammu and Kashmir — a claim Pakistan has strongly rejected.
Pakistan maintains that India is attempting to divert the world's attention away from atrocities committed by government forces in India-held Kashmir.
Pakistan and India have, most recently, locked horns over Kashmir since Indian forces stepped up a crackdown against protesters after Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani was killed by government forces in July.
