JALANDHAR, March 20: The three-day deliberations between the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Pakistan Rangers ended here yesterday with Pakistan Rangers assuring its Indian counterpart to stop aimed firing at civilian population in Jammu frontier and stop infiltration of Bangladeshi and Bihari (Mohajirs) population from Pakistan to India. Both sides also agreed to open up communication channels.Shantanu Kumar, Inspector General of the Rajasthan and Gujarat sectors of the BSF, who headed the Indian delegation, told reporters at the end of the discussions that the Pak Rangers had been told that the BSF had the right to dominate every inch of the Indian territory on international border of Jammu, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat. They were also told to refrain from disturbing peace and tranquility on international border.
The contentious issue of fencing on the Jammu frontier did not come up for discussions during the meeting. The BSF also told the Rangers about the late running and misuse of SamjhautaExpress from Pakistan into India which was creating security problems on the Indian territory. Shantanu Kumar said the delegation from Pakistan agreed to stop firing on civil population in Jammu frontier which had led to five casualties on the Indian side in the past six months. The BSF had also shot dead 14 Pakistan intruders during the period.
Representatives of Narcotics Control Bureau of both the countries exchanged information concerning prevailing trends of drug trafficking on the Indo-Pak border and seizures affected in the recent past.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
