Ultras spotted close to IB thrice; BSF’s requests for flag meetings ignored
On a day when four militants and two security personnel were killed in two separate encounters in North Kashmir and Pakistan continued with ceasefire violations along the line of Control (loC) and the International Border (IB) in Jammu region, the Border Security Force (BSF) has claimed that Pakistan Rangers are opening up fire to help push militants into Indian territory. It also accused Pakistan Army of backing the Rangers, a paramilitary force, in the ceasefire violations.
BSF Director-General DK Pathak on Sunday said in Delhi that his force spotted armed terrorists “very close” to the International Border on at least “three occasions” in the last few days and suspect the firings were an attempt to help them infiltrate into India.
He also said Pakistan Rangers so far had not responded to the BSF’s repeated requests for holding flag meetings regarding ceasefire violations and firing, adding the last request was made on Saturday night.
Given this scenario, the BSF was giving a “befitting reply” with heavy intensity and volume of fire to the Pakistani firing and have clear instructions from the Home Ministry that there should be “retaliatory action,” he said.
“On at least three occasions, with the help of our hand-held thermal imaging gadgets, we have observed that few people in civil dress armed with weapons were moving very close to the IB late at night. When we fired, they retracted. We presume they were militants because why would a civilian, late in the night, venture along the IB,” the BSF chief said.
Elaborating upon this assumption, Pathak said: “One of the main reasons for the increase in unprovoked firings from Pakistan looks to be infiltration (of militants). The firings are being done to facilitate infiltrators and last year during the same time Pakistan did so.”
He said as many as 25 BSF posts are under intense firing by Pakistani forces and the series of these violations began on August 16. “There were a series of ceasefire violations few days prior to August 16 also,” he said.
The BSF chief said two civilians were killed in firing and 19 people injured till now on the Indian side, which includes BSF troops. “According to reports in Pakistan media, there have been five casualties and 16 injuries on the other side after we returned the fire,” Pathak said. Pathak said Home Minister Rajnath Singh directed him to go ahead with “retaliatory action” when apprised of the ground situation on Saturday.
The BSF chief reiterated that his force was giving a “befitting reply” with a heavy intensity and volume of fire. “The firing from our side is much more intensive and effective. Our principle is that we don’t open the first fire and we do not target civilian areas. We abide by that. We will keep giving strong retaliatory reply,” he said.
However, the situation was normal and peaceful at present in other parts of the India-Pakistan border that runs through Rajasthan, Gujarat and Punjab, Pathak said. He also said, at present, there was no need to deploy additional manpower in view of these ceasefire violations in Jammu and Kashmir and the number of forces deployed there was “good enough” to counter the enemy’s actions.
In Jammu, Inspector-General of BSF, Jammu range, Rakesh Sharma said that ground reports clearly indicate that Pakistan Army is possibly backing Pakistan Rangers along the IB. “We have gathered inputs and we cannot completely rule out their presence in posts occupied by Pakistan Rangers,” he said.
Sharma who was briefing the media about the prevailing security situation, claimed that the morale of the BSF jawans was very high and they were determined to defend the borders. BSF sources said they have “reliable” information that two leT men were killed in retaliatory fire across the border post in RS Pura after the ceasefire violations erupted for the second time after August 16.
Meanwhile, in the Kalaroos area of North Kashmir’s Kupwara district, four militants and two army men were killed in the fierce gunfight that started on Saturday afternoon when the militants were first intercepted, Defence sources said. Sources said that a group of infiltrators, believed to be six to eight in number, had sneaked into Kashmir Valley near Z-Gali in Machil sector, around three days ago. The group had travelled a distance through the forested and treacherous area but the troops intercepted them in Dhok area of Nunwani near Kalaroos.
“The interception of militants led to a fierce encounter, which continued till last reports came in from the area”, sources said. Defence spokesman lt-Col NN Joshi said that the militants were in “our territory when they were intercepted”. He was not sure whether they have freshly infiltrated into the area. He said two soldiers died in separate encounters in the North Kashmir region since Saturday. The slain soldiers have been identified as Naik Neeraj Kumar Singh of 57 Rashtriya Rifles and Grenadier Rahul Kumar of 23 Grenadiers Battalion. Rahul Kumar had been shifted to Army’s 192 Base Hospital after sustaining grievous wounds in Keran sector on Saturday, where he succumbed to his injuries.
Meanwhile, in a separate development, tribal youths from Jammu and Kashmir Sunday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, apprising him of the lack of infrastructure and jobs in the remote areas of the State. A Defence statement issued by the Army’s Northern Command headquartered in Udhampur town said Sunday: “Rashtriya Rifles battalion under Romeo Force organised a trip named ‘Sair-e-Watan’ as part of Sadbhavana initiative for the Gujjar and Bakkarwal youths of the area.
“Gujjar and Bakkarwal boys were taken to Agra and Delhi. In Delhi, they interacted with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and shared their experiences, also highlighting the difficulties faced by them due to lack of basic infrastructure and employment opportunities. “The Prime Minister appreciated their spirit and said they would get their share in the progress and development of the nation.”