India, Pak make new bid to reduce border tension
COMMANDERS MEET 12 grenade attacks in J&K in 4 days
JAMMU/SRINAGAR/ISLAMABAD: India and Pakistan attempted for a second time in a week to reinforce a 2003 ceasefire along the Line of Control that appears to lie in tatters following repeated incidents of firing along the border. Sector commanders of the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Pakistan Rangers held a flag meeting on Monday evening in Jammu and Kashmir’s RS Pura, a day after Pakistani sniper fire and shelling killed two BSF personnel and injured 12 villagers .
The meeting came on a day when at least 12 people and four policemen were injured in Kashmir’s Shopian after an unidentified person hurled a grenade at security personnel. In the evening, another grenade strike in Pulwama injured four security personnel and three civilians, the 12th such attack since the director generals of military operations (DGMOS) of the two countries met on May 29 and agreed to “sincere measures” to curb border violence.
On May 16, I ndia also announced the cessation of operations by security forces in the state in the holy month of Ramzan. BSF Jammu frontier inspector general Ram Awtar said the three sector commanders of the BSF Jammu frontier participated at the sector commander level flag meeting. Pak Rangers were led by a sector commander and wing commanders.
The meeting was held at the Octroi border outpost of the BSF in Suchetgarh area. The next such meeting will be held on June 21, a senior BSF officer said on the condition of anonymity. “Today’s meeting is likely to bring firingfree environment, particularly for border area villagers on both sides. Commanders on both sides agreed to keep talks on at every level to develop confidence between two border guarding forces,” said the officer.
The BSF blames Pakistan for repeatedly breaking the ceasefire along the Line of Control and the international border.