Islamabad, Oct 10 (IANS): Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Friday called for honouring the sanctity of the border with India and a halt to the intermittent firing that has been taking place since Oct 3.

Sharif, who chaired a National Security Committee (NSC) meeting, said that Pakistan's desire for peace should not be misunderstood, Dawn Online reported.

He also deplored the loss of lives in the Pakistani side as a result of the firing.

Earlier Wednesday, the federal government decided to convene a meeting of the NSC in the wake of the cross-border firing.

The meeting was attended by Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Advisor to Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz and senior military officers.

The top military leadership briefed the meeting about the latest situation along the Line of Control and the International Boundary and said that Pakistani forces were only firing in self-defence and not targeting civilian areas.

In Pakistan side, two people were killed in Sialkot Thursday in latest firing, raising the number of deaths in the past few days to 13 and of the injured to 43.