India: After three years, the border guarding forces of India and Pakistan have revived sector commander level talks. The Border Security Force (BSF) and the its counterpart-the Pakistan Rangers have held two meetings in the past six months. the recent one was held on January 5.
A senior government official said that both meetings were on the request of Pakistan and that the first one was on July 24 last.
The talks between the sector commanders were last held in August 2018.
After 2017, the Director-General talks between the two forces have not taken place.
The sector commander talks are led by a Deputy Inspector General rank officer in the BSF and a Brigadier rank officer of the Pakistan Rangers.
After the January 5 meeting, held at the Octroi outpost in Jammu, the BSF said in a statement that “both sides agreed to conduct such meetings at regular intervals for better understanding and to maintain peace and tranquility on border.”
It added, “BSF also strictly objected to the drone operationss carried out by Pakistan regularly violating the IB [International Boundary]”.
At the meeting, BSF delegation emphasised on the infiltration attempts from the Pakistan side and regular recovery of arms, ammunition and narcotics on the international border.
The official said the talks were revived to also ensure accountability. “If the senior officers communicate, then it helps in resolving many issues and any wrong can be pointed out,” he noted.
