NEW DELHI:
A high-level delegation of border guarding Pakistan Rangers is set to arrive here later this month for talks with its Indian counterpart BSF after a long spell of strained ties between the neighbours over a spate of ceasefire violations.
The Rangers delegation, led by its two Directors General (DGs), is expected to enter India through the land border at Wagah-Attari in Punjab on March 25 and will hold talks for five days with their Indian counterpart Border Security Force (BSF) at its headquarters here.
In a rare instance, both the Chiefs of Pakistan Rangers – Maj Gen Bilal Akbar (DG Rangers Sindh) and Maj Gen Khan Tahir Javed Khan (DG Rangers Punjab) – will attend the talks.
The visit has been pending for over a year now as BSF had sent the invite for DG-level talks early last year, but there had been no confirmation from the other side.
The visit was not taking shape as frequent ceasefire violations for the past eight months kept tempers high between the two sides in general, and the Rangers and BSF in specific.
“The Pakistan Rangers are arriving in India for the annual DG-level talks for five days from March 25 to March 29. The last time the two sides met was in December 2013 when the BSF travelled to Lahore.
Since then, the ties have been strained because of ceasefire violations along the International Border and the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir and the visit kept on getting delayed,” a top Home Ministry official said.
The BSF, the official said, is expected to take up the issue of ceasefire violations during this meeting even as it expects that their counterparts from across the border would be armed with similar dossiers. (AGENCIES)
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel