BSF lodges protest with Pak over truce violation, firing in JK

Jammu, Nov 5 (PTI) Taking serious note of ceasefire
violations, cross-border infiltration attempts and shelling of
Indian positions along the Indo-Pak border, the Border
Security Force (B.S.F.) has lodged a strong protest with the
Pakistani Rangers at a flag meeting on the International
Border (I.B.) in Jammu region.

"We lodged a strong protest with our Pakistani
counterparts last night over attempts to push in armed
militants under the cover of shelling and firing by Pakistan
on B.S.F. guards in Durga and Naka 11 posts along the I.B. in
Makwal area of Jammu district Tuesday," B.S.F. Deputy
Commandant S Balasubramaiam said. Two B.S.F. jawans were
injured in the incident.

At a flag meeting with officers of Pakistan's Chinab
Rangers, B.S.F. said it provided "ground proofs" of
infiltration attempts, firing of grenade launchers and rocket
marks on the Indian side barely 350 meters from Pakistani post
of Chota Chak.

Pakistani troops attempted to push in a group of armed
militants into the Indian territory from the Chota Chak post
by firing rockets and grenade launchers and opening
indiscriminate fire with their automatic weapons on Durga and
Naka 11 posts Tuesday.

The ceasefire violation by Pakistan came less than three
weeks after B.S.F. and Pakistani Rangers decided at their
two-day long biennial meeting at Lahore on October 16 to
refrain from cross-border firing and shelling and to preserve
the sanctity of the four-year-old ceasefire along Indo-Pak
border.

B.S.F. said this was the 36th ceasefire violation
incident since January this year.

Balasubramaiam said, "the incident has been viewed very
seriously at the highest level and Pak Rangers have been
warned accordingly."

The ceasefire violation by Pakistan was aimed at
infiltrating militants into Jammu and Kashmir to disrupt the
forthcoming assembly elections in the state, B.S.F. officers
said.

B.S.F. and army have beefed up security along the I.B.
and (Line of Control) LoC in the wake of intelligence inputs
that militants were waiting to infiltrate into J-K, they said.
PTI AB