Pakistan and India have agreed to hold joint investigation into serious violations of ceasefire along the Working Boundary to ensure peace. This was stated by spokesperson for Punjab Rangers after three-day talks between the Directors General of Punjab Rangers and India's Border Security Force in New Delhi on Saturday. He said the talks were held in a conducive environment and both the sides discussed at length various issues. He said the two sides agreed to ensure observance of ceasefire along the Working Boundary.
The spokesperson said the Pakistani side raised the issue of martyrdom of Rangers officials by Indian forces during the Flag Meeting. He said the Director General of the BSF assured Pakistan of not repeating such incidents in the future. He said the two sides also agreed to establish a co-ordinated border control mechanism to curb smuggling. Meanwhile, according to Indian newspaper The Hindu, both India and Pakistan have agreed to jointly resolve sensitive issues like ceasefire violations and cross-border infiltration through exchange of information, including via e-mail and over the telephone.
At the conclusion of bilateral DG-level border talks, the two sides also inked some new confidence building measures (CBMs) and signed a joint record of discussions which emphasised the need to ensure security and well-being of their border populations. The two sides, sources said, also agreed to stop ceasefire violations along the International Border (IB) "through enhanced communication via multiple modes at all possible levels." The chiefs of the Border Security Force and Pakistan Rangers had led the dialogue and both sides maintained that it was held in a very cordial and smooth manner and all the issues concerning the two countries along the Indo-Pak border were taken up and addressed. The two border guarding forces decided to initiate new CBMs through initiation of co-ordinated patrolling in specific border areas.
"The Joint Record of Discussion charting a future route map for co-operation between the two border guarding forces was signed in the day. It was mutually agreed to hold the next talks in the first half of 2016 in Pakistan," a BSF statement said after its DG D K Pathak and Rangers chief Major General Umar Farooq Burki signed the documents. "The talks ended on a optimistic note with both sides agreeing on constant endeavour to maintain peaceful and tranquil borders," it added.
Sources said that both the forces, up to the level of Directors General, will exchange mobile numbers, e-mail IDs and fax numbers for quick and swift communication to resolve situations on a case-to-case basis. "The most significant takeaway of the talks has been that the two sides agreed that maintenance of peace and tranquillity on this border is the most important issue and this needs to be implemented on the ground," a top Indian government source said.
Border Security Force (BSF) chief D K Pathak, during a public function of central investigative agency NIA in the evening here, said that the Indian side was "happy" after the deliberations on the talks. "I wouldn't say anything beyond that. The talks went on in a very cordial manner and we are happy about it," Pathak said. The Rangers, led by their DG (Punjab) Umar Farooq Burki, asked BSF to initiate the joint patrolling along some mutually identified areas on this border which was agreed by India, they said. These much-awaited talks are happening amid escalating tensions and continuing cases of ceasefire violations along the LoC in Jammu & Kashmir and after over 1.5 years.