Four-day long meeting between the DGs of Border Security Forces of India and Pakistan has concluded on a note of satisfaction on both sides. They have expressed satisfaction that talks were held in an atmosphere of cordiality. Indian side said that it was satisfied with the positive response of Pakistan. The bottom line of the talks was to work towards maintenance of peace and tranquility on the International Border and to express great concern for the civilian population living along the border.
Actually, the DG level talks have nothing to do with the Ufa meet and the commitment that was made during the meeting of the two Prime Ministers there. The next meeting of the two DGs is scheduled to take place in the first half of 2016 in Pakistan.
There have been violations of the cease fire agreement of 2003 and there has been firing and shelling across the IB in recent months and weeks. In this process, civilians have also been targeted and some of them have lost their lives on either side of the border. Some residential houses have been destroyed, cattle killed and crops destroyed. A large number of civilians are forced to abandon their homes and hearths and seek shelter at some distance from the border. This and the related matters like narcotics smuggling, advertent and inadvertent border crossing, and unprovoked firing were the issues that came up for discussion. In the joint press release as well as in the Joint Record of Discussions, emphasis was given to respecting the sanctity of the border and ensuring that the civilian population was not targeted. The need for improved Confidence Building Measures was realized on both sides and it was decided that this could be done through quick exchange of information through mobile phones, emails besides adopting the conventional methods of flag march. The sides would exchange mobile numbers and email IDs of field commanders so that in the event of emergency, they would get into immediate contact and find through mutual agreement the ways and means of averting escalation of mistrust and mistakes in the course of jawans performing their duty on the border. Two interesting measures for confidence building were accepted as part of the roadmap for the field commanders. One was that joint patrolling of the border could be made possible and it would help considerably in avoiding misunderstandings. The second interesting measure proposed was joint participation in sports especially in volley ball and basket ball. Once the jawans show interest in sports, the scope of cultural activities could be widened and made more impressive. Pakistani Rangers DG along with his 16-member team called on the Home Minister and had brief exchange of ideas with him. The Home Minister was happy to note that the talks had been held in cordial atmosphere and both sides were committed to the maintenance of peace and tranquility on the border with emphasis on great concern for the safety and security of the civilian population. The Home Minister said that Indian Border Security Force would not fire the first shot. Communication channels along the IB and at the level of ground commanders will also be enhanced, adding in case India spots an illegal movement along the border it will fire “warning shots” to alert the Rangers, illuminate the area by flare shots and subsequently take on the suspects or infiltrators.
It has to be noted that although the DG Rangers claimed that Pakistan does not allow illegal infiltration of the border, the ground reality is something different. Pakistan has some clear and transparent motives in resorting to unprovoked firing on the border. Firstly, it has been found that firing from Pakistani side takes place when armed jihadi group want to cross into Indian side at vulnerable spots. Fire cover from the Rangers gives them the benefit of crossing the border when the Indian security forces are diverted to respond to the unprovoked firing. Secondly, the infiltrators are the armed legions of the LeT, a terrorist organization with clear cut objective of destabilizing the law and order in the State of Jammu and Kashmir. Islamabad has not been able to check the nefarious designs of this militant organization just because it has the patronage of the Pakistan army. Thirdly, Rangers want to scare the civilian population on our side of the border so that they abandon their homes and are dispersed and the jihadis can sneak into our side without being detected and reported by the civilian population. Hundreds of Pakistani jihadis have been gunned down by the BSF over the years and good deal of documentation has been recovered from them proving their Pakistani identity and citizenship. Apart from that we have right now two LeT jihadis in the custody of our security forces who were nabbed in the course of their attack on security forces. As against these glaring and publicly stated motives of Pakistan leading to opening of fire on the border, India has no aims or objectives to achieve by opening fire on Pakistani Rangers. India is not sending infiltrators into Pakistan, India has no purpose in scaring the civilian population on Pakistani border and India has shown tremendous patience and restraint in face of targeted shelling by the Rangers.
This notwithstanding, New Delhi has always desired that the border between the two neighbouring countries should be peaceful and the civilian population living along the border should be left untouched and undisturbed. If the talks between the DGs were really held in an atmosphere of cordiality and cooperation, it is welcome because it means great relief to the civilian population on either side of the border. It also means relief to the security forces who, at present, have to mount extraordinary vigil in maintaining the security of the border. We hope that the talks will mean that the cease fire agreement of 2003 will be revived and accepted in letter and in spirit by both sides. That agreement had remained in place for more than a decade and there is no reason why it cannot be revived in true spirit of sparing the border the trauma of recurrent firing and shelling. After all the two countries are neighbours and they have to live in peace and not in perpetual war. Both sides have extensive border managing paraphernalia and it should be possible for them to contribute peace and tranquility to respective nations and the neighbours both. We hope that good sense will prevail on both sides and the recent meeting will usher in a new era of tranquil and peaceful international border between India and Pakistan.
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