India, Pakistan armies hold Brigadier-level flag meeting at Poonch-Rawalkot crossing

File photograph of a flag meeting in Poonch sector between Indian and Pakistani Army officers, in 2015.

After a string of statements from India and Pakistan highlighting the importance of peace in the region, the militaries of the two countries held a flag meeting in the Poonch sector on March 26. The brigadier-level meeting at Poonch-Rawalkot crossing was held to uphold the agreement to observe ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir.

In February, India and Pakistan announced a ceasefire along the LoC and all other sectors, and iterated that the 2003 ceasefire agreement would be respected.

“Post the DGsMO Understanding 2021, a Brigade Commander Level Flag Meeting was held between Indian and Pakistan Army at Poonch-Rawalkot Crossing Point on 26 Mar 2021 to discuss implementation mechanism as per the understanding,” the Indian army tweeted from its official handle.

A senior army official was quoted by newspapers as saying, “The ceasefire is holding good and the brigade-commander level flag meet was planned to ensure that both sides adhere to the understanding reached between the two DGMOs.”

A day earlier, on March 25, Army Chief General M.M. Naravane said the LoC has been silent for the first time in around five to six years. “I am glad to inform that in the whole month of March, we have not had a single shot fired at the Line of Control barring an odd incident. It is for the first time in about five or six years that the LoC has been silent. That really bodes well for the future,” Naravane said.