BSF RETALIATORY FIRE KILLS 3 PAK RANGERS

JAMMU: The Border Security Force (BSF) killed at least three Pakistani Rangers in retaliatory firing in two separate places along the Indo-Pakistan international border on Saturday.

BSF Jammu Frontier IG Ram Awtar told HT over phone that the BSF eliminated a ranger at an area opposite to Arnia of RS Pura sector in Jammu district, where Pakistani forces opened sniper firing on Friday, injuring constable KK Apparao.

Two Rangers were eliminated opposite Dewra village in Sunderbani in a separate retaliatory fire, the IG added.The Pakistani Rangers sniped Apparao when he was drinking water in BOP Budhwar in RS Pura of Jammu district, said another BSF officer. A bullet was lodged above the jawan’s ear. He was operated upon last night and his condition is stated to be stable.The rangers resumed unprovoked firing on Saturday afternoon firing four 51mm and two 81/82 mm mortars. Two mortars exploded in Dewra village in Sunderbani.

There is no de-escalation in unprovoked firing from across the border even as the BSF and the Pakistan Rangers had “committed” themselves to maintaining peace at a commandant-level flag meeting in Samba sector on July 17. In the flag meeting, the two sides had agreed to re- energise instant communication between field commanders, whenever required, to resolve “petty matters”, a BSF official had said. “They committed to each other to maintain peace and tranquillity at the international border,” the official had added. Three days ago, senior army commanders of India and Pakistan also held a flag meeting on the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch sector in J&K and agreed to institute mechanisms for durable peace and tranquillity on the border.