Islamabad: A day after President Pervez Musharraf observed that India was building fence deep inside its own territory, a top Pakistani official today (Dec 7, 2003) charged New Delhi with violating bilateral and multilateral agreements by stepping up construction of fencing along Line of Control (LoC) taking advantage of the current ceasefire.

"The Karachi Agreement of 1949 and Pakistan-India Agreement of September 1972 clearly mention that if any new construction is done on the Line of Control, permission will have to be obtained from each other," Pakistan's Defence Spokesman Major General Shoukat Sulatan said, adding Islamabad wanted to take up the issue with New Delhi through diplomatic channel.

Sultan said the erection of fencing by India altered the status of LoC. "No fencing construction will be done there and this erection of fence on the LoC alters the status of the LoC whereas Kashmir is a disputed territory," he told BBC.

"This fencing is a violation of bilateral and multilateral agreements."

Sultan said there should be sincerity on both sides and whenever there is a peace effort it should be carried ahead towards a better end and the issues should be resolved. "We shall try to raise this issue through diplomatic means."

PTI