A Pakistan Rangers delegation headed by Major General Umar Farooq Burki will be entering India through the Wagah-Attari border on Wednesday and they would then be flown from Amritsar to Delhi to attend the DG-level talks with the Border Security Force from September 10-13.
For the first time, India would be stressing on adding “more layers of channel of communication” with Pakistan Rangers. Presently a communication channel exists only at sector-level, India wants it extended it to the level of company commander, battalion and also at the Inspector-General level. India will also ask for frequent joint patrolling and confidence building measures.
There is still a suspense, whether the delegation would call on Home Minister Rajnath Singh, once the talks are concluded. The delegation will be put up at the Taj Man Singh hotel in the heart of capital, sources said.
On Tuesday, BSF DG D.K Pathak held a four-hour-long meeting with NSA Ajit Doval and briefed him about the agenda points, they were going to take up with the Rangers. Army chief Dalbir Singh and Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi were also present. The DG level talks, supposed to happen on a bi-annual basis started in 1989 but the timings have not been followed. The last time the DG’s of the two forces met was in December 2013 in Lahore.
As reported by The Hindu earlier, the BSF has shared eleven agenda points with Pakistan and 18 points have been raised by them. “We would be stressing on opening more layers of communication with the Rangers. Presently it exists only at the sector level. We want to implement it at very level. From the level of company commander to battalion level, to IG level also.
Till August 20, there were 589 ceasefire violations from Pakistan’s side and there were 95 attempts to infiltrate from across the border this year.
Sources in Pakistan government said they were coming with an open mind and would take up the issue of ceasefire violations along the Jammu border, which it calls the Working Boundary and also the Line of Control (LoC), which is under the operational control of the Indian Army.
The official said that Pakistan had enough evidence of India’s involvement of pushing in terrorist elements to Pakistan’s territory from Punjab and Rajasthan border and they would be taking up this issue at the DG-level talks. A BSF official said the agenda shared by Pakistan did not mention any such thing. “We will also share the details of Indians caught on Pakistani side who have infiltrated with the help of Indian forces,” said the Pakistan government official.
“India should use official channels and mechanisms to communicate with Pakistan rather than planting stories in the media. Instead of indulging in blame game India should consider U.N. Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) to ensure peace at the border,” said the Pakistan government official.
