Nawaz Sharif dismayed at Indo-Pak escalation on LoC

LAHORE: Former Pak premier Nawaz Sharif today expressed dismay at the deaths of Indian and Pakistani soldiers in clashes along the Line of Control and said both countries should ascertain why such incidents were happening.

"Pakistan and India are perhaps the only two neighbouring countries where their soldiers are being killed at (the border)," he contended.

"Why this is happening? The governments (of both countries) should take notice of it and it should not happen again," he said while addressing the Supreme Court Bar Association here.

Sharif further said more people were being killed in Pakistan than in other countries across the world.

"We should sit together and talk about terrorism, foreign policy and the economy," the PML-N chief suggested.

On the other hand, Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira told reporters that the Pakistan army had the right to retaliate if its soldiers are targeted.

"Yes, if there would be an attack on Pakistani soldiers at the LoC, then it is supposed to retaliate," he said while replying to a question from a journalist.

Two Indian soldiers and a Pakistani soldier have died in two separate incidents along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir since the weekend.

The incidents were among the most serious violations of a ceasefire that was put in place in late 2003.