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BSF lodges protest with Pakistan Rangers over ceasefire violation
One border guard and one civilian were injured after Pakistan Rangers initiated unprovoked firing along the International Border in the Arnia sector
New Delhi/Jammu The Border Security Force on Saturday lodged a strong protest with Pakistan Rangers over Thursday night’s unprovoked firing along the international border in Jammu & Kashmir, during a flag meeting in Jammu, people familiar with the development said. This was the second such meeting over the past 10 days.
One border guard and one civilian were injured after Pakistan Rangers initiated unprovoked firing along the International Border in the Arnia sector of Jammu district on Thursday night. The unprovoked firing was countered “befittingly with appropriate response,” the BSF had said in a statement on Friday. The cross-border shelling by Pakistan Rangers, the first major ceasefire violation since 2021, started around 8 pm Thursday in the Arnia area of R S Pura sector and lasted around seven hours.
On Saturday, the two sides held an hour-long commander-level meeting at the Border Outpost Octroi in Suchetgarh to discuss the matter.
“A Wing commander-Commandant level flag meeting was held between BSF and Pak Rangers at BOP Octroi. BSF delegation leader lodged a strong protest to Pak Rangers for unprovoked firing in Arnia area in the night intervening 26/27 Oct 2023. The meeting ended in a cordial atmosphere to maintain peace and tranquillity on the International border,” a BSF spokesperson from Delhi said.
An official familiar with the development said the commander-level meeting was attended by seven Pak Rangers, led by deputy superintendent ranger Mohammad Fazal, and as many officials from the Indian side, who were led by commandant of the 120 Battalion of the BSF, Chandesh Sona.
“During the meeting, the BSF asked Pak Rangers to refrain from unprovoked firing on the Indian posts and villages and made it clear to their counterpart that they reserve the right to respond for the safety of its people,” the official said.
On October 19, a similar meeting was held in the backdrop of Pakistan Rangers violating the ceasefire agreement and shooting at two BSF personnel in the same area on the night of October 17. The condition of the two guards, who sustained gunshot injuries, is stable. This was the second flag meeting between the two sides in 10 days after two BSF personnel were injured when their post in Arnia came under fire from across the border on October 17.
In Thursday’s incident, mortar shells fired from Pakistan landed on some houses near the border, following which security forces asked people to switch off their lights and remain alert to avoid civilian casualties, a local resident said.
Meanwhile, even as there is high alert in villages along the international border in Jammu, the BSF personnel have continued their searches in the area on suspicion that the Pakistan smugglers may have used the seven-hour firing as a distraction to drop drugs and weapons in adjoining areas on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday, an official familiar with the matter said.
During the subsequent search operations in Punjab, the BSF team found that at least two intrusions were made on Thursday night. At around 4 am on Friday, one drone entered Tarn Taran district in Punjab, following which border guards adopted the standard operating procedure and fired at it, the official said.
On Friday morning, during another search operation, the Punjab police recovered 3 kg heroin, suspected to have been dropped by the drone, from a field in Mastgarh village of Tarn Taran district.
“This is a tactic adopted by Pakistan smugglers. Whenever there is tension in one part, they use the opportunity to send drones carrying packages in other areas,” a second officer said. “But we manage to shoot the drones down and recover the packages almost every time. The areas along the border in Jammu are being searched thoroughly.”
India’s second-largest paramilitary force guards the country’s borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh across its western, eastern and northern frontiers.
The restoration of the 2021 ceasefire led to a drop in infiltration by terrorists at least until a few months ago. Indian and Pakistani militaries announced on February 25 that year that they had begun observing a ceasefire along the Line of Control from the midnight of February 24. The two countries had also agreed to a ceasefire in November 2003, but it was frequently violated.
Pakistan resorted to the highest ever ceasefire violations since 2016 during the year preceding the joint announcement of the 2021 ceasefire.
