Border firing to dominate Indo-Pak DG-level talks

Jaswinder Singh Baidwan

Akhran da mureed
Staff member
Cross-border firing has figured prominently in Pakistan’s tentative agenda, comprising around 20 points, that it has provided to India for the Director General-level talks scheduled to be held between the BSF and the Pakistan Rangers from September 9 to 13.
A BSF official said Pakistan had been crying hoarse over “firing” despite the fact that its own security personnel had been resorting to indiscriminate shelling at civilian areas and BSF outposts along the border. Around 250 ceasefire violations by Pakistan had been reported this year, he said. On Thursday, Pakistan Rangers opened firing in Arnia and RS Pura sectors of Jammu, killing three civilians and injuring 17 others. “The cross-border firing is on our list too,” a BSF official said.
On August 25, India and Pakistan had exchanged their tentative agendas for the talks at the Attari-Wagah border check post. The agendas are exchanged to understand each side’s concerns and demands. The talks, held biannually, were last held in December 2013.
Sources said currently, the BSF and the Pakistan Rangers were telephonically verifying the claims made by the other side in discussions at the Attari-Wagah border post. For example, if the Pakistan Rangers have complained about a ‘bundh’ (mud wall) at any particular location, the BSF will send a query to their own formation in that area. The BSF would, thereafter, respond to their counterpart whether such a structure existed.
“Our tentative agenda too comprises about 20 points, which has been handed over to the Pakistan Rangers. After the completion of the verification process by both the sides, the final agenda for the talks will be fixed by the two forces on September 9. It may contain lesser number of issues as compared to the tentative agendas,” he explained.
India’s agenda also demands for better channels of communication. Currently, the lowest level of communication is a flag meeting, which cannot take place during night, meaning one side has to wait till next morning to raise any issue.
The BSF agenda has not mentioned anything on the Dinanagar terrorist attack as, according to them, the route of the entry of the terrorists into India was still unclear.
The Pakistan delegation comprising the two Director Generals (DGs) of the Punjab Rangers and Sindh Rangers, which are deployed at the Pakistani side of the border, will arrive in Delhi on September 9. Before the formal discussion on September 10, the DGs of the two forces will discuss the agenda over breakfast that day and some matters could be removed.
“This is what happened during the DG-level talks between the BSF and the Border Guard Bangladesh held last month. Both the sides decided not to discuss killings at the border,” said sources.
During formal discussion if one side did not agree on any point, it would be raised again during informal discussions between the officers of the two delegations. On September 13, the Joint Recording of Discussion will be held, which is the signing on the issues agreed upon by the two parties. “An important issue is that they are coming and talking. After the cancellation of the NSA talks, this meet is important for understanding each other,” said the sources.
 
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