PAK BACK AT DIRTY TRICKS

BSF JAWAN SHOT AT THRICE, THROAT SLIT, EYES GOUGED OUT

Having Imran Khan presiding over the civilian government in Pakistan does not seem to have helped matters.

It was back to medieval barbarism with Pakistani troops slitting the throat of a BSF jawan after fatally shooting him along the International border near Jammu. According to one TV channel, even the eyes of the jawan were gouged out.

The incident is likely to ratchet up tensions between the two neighbours, which is highly ominous at a time the ties are at a low ebb.

Head constable Narendra Singh's mutilated body was found hours after he "crossed over the border inadvertently", said the BSF. He had gone near the fence to clear tall elephant grass or "sarkanda". The BSF said while such groups are routinely sent to remove wild growth to clear the view along the border, on Tuesday there was unprovoked firing by Pakistanis.

Official sources said the body had three bullet injuries and it could only be retrieved from a spot close to the Indo-Pak fence after over six hours, as the Pakistani side "did not respond" to the calls to maintain the sanctity of the frontier and ensure that BSF search parties were not fired upon.

The brutal incident that took place in the Ramgarh sector on Tuesday has prompted the security forces to issue a "high alert" across the IB and Line of Control, even as the Border Security Force lodged a strong complaint with its counterparts -- the Pakistan Rangers.

The Pakistan Rangers, the sources said, was asked to take part in a joint patrol to trace the missing jawan, but they only came up to a certain point and cited waterlogging problems in the area that prevented them from undertaking coordinated action.

The BSF then waited for the sun to set and launched a "risky operation" to bring the jawan's body back to the post by "late evening".

Officials in the security establishment said the incident of brutality, probably a first at the International Border, was being taken "very seriously" by the government and the Ministry of External Affairs.

The incident came a day after Home Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the maiden "smart fence" project of the BSF in Jammu on Monday that aims to deploy smart technology and gadgets to secure the vulnerable patches on the Indo-Pak border.