BSF raises concern with Pak rangers

BSF raises concern with Pak rangers

Context

• India and Pakistan decided to resume the meetings between “sector commanders” deployed along the International Border (IB).

What were the issues raised in the meet?

• The quarterly meeting between officials of the rank of Deputy Inspector-General on the Wagah-Atari border had not taken place for the past year-and-a-half.
• At the 44th biannual meeting with the Pakistan Rangers, the Border Security Force (BSF) “strongly” raised the issue of unprovoked firing, killing of civilians and use of tunnels for cross-border crimes along the Pakistan border.
• The 19-member delegation of Rangers, arrived in India on November 8 for the three-day meet.

What are the issues between the two sides?

• The Indian side firmly and strongly took up specific issues of concern including
  • Incidents of unprovoked cross-border firing
  • Smuggling of narcotics
  • Infiltration attempts
  • Tunnelling
  • Defence construction activities
• It underlined the discovery of a number of tunnels along the border in the Jammu region that are used by the other side to facilitate cross-border smuggling and infiltration
• While the Pakistani delegation raised the issue of targeted firing by the BSF, it was made clear that such action is resorted to when unprovoked firing from the other side kills troops, civilians or leads to other damage. The issue of inadvertent crossing over by the border population and ways to facilitate their return on both the sides was also discussed
• The two sides also decided to ensure that the wild growth of the ‘Sarkanda’ (elephant grass) along the IB will be checked and it will be disposed of within the existing norms.

Where is the next meeting scheduled?

• The next round of these talks is scheduled to be held in Pakistan.
• India’s 3,323-km border with Pakistan runs through four States — Jammu and Kashmir (1,225 km which includes 740 km of Line of Control), Rajasthan (1,037 km), Punjab (553 km) and Gujarat (508 km).
• While the BSF guards the IB independently, it works under the operational command of the Army while working at the LoC.