De-escalation at Pak border yet to begin

JAMMU, OCT 21: Pakistani troops are yet to begin withdrawal from the International Border IB in Jammu and Kashmir though the incidents ...

JAMMU, OCT 21: Pakistani troops are yet to begin withdrawal from the International Border IB in Jammu and Kashmir though the incidents of unprovoked firing by them have considerably decreased at various places during the last three days.

Official sources in the Army and the Border Security Force BSF told The Indian Express that the de-escalation process, as announced by Pakistan8217;s Chief Executive General Pervez Musharraf on Sunday, was yet to begin as the Pakistani troops had not started moving out of the International Border so far. However, there was a considerable decrease in the incidents of firing by them Pakistani troops at various places.

Incidents of Pakistani firing have come down from 15-18 places daily to only three or four places in Samba and Akhnoor sectors during a day. These have come down from 30 to about 20 places in R S Pura sector so far, they added.Pointing out that decrease in border firing incidents cannot be termed as de-escalation, a senior security forces official said thatthe company commander level meetings between the Border Security Force and the Pakistani Rangers were yet to be resumed. These meetings were suspended after the outbreak of Indo-Pak conflict in Kargil.

Similarly, the defence sources said that Pakistani troops may have started withdrawing from the IB at some other place, but this was not visible in Jammu and Kashmir. Not attaching much significance to the statement of General Musharraf regarding unilateral withdrawal of troops from the IB, they said that the Indian side had already taken a decision in this regard after the end of Kargil conflict.

The orders for withdrawal of troops from the IB from October 15 were already received by the Northern Command Headquarters at Udhampur, a senior Army official said. However, the things got delayed due to military coup in Pakistan, he added.

Sources said that though the incidents of Pakistani firing along the IB have decreased, villagers are still unable to visit their fields situated ahead of the BSF borderout-posts BOPs. Hundreds of acres of land is lying uncultivated as Pakistani troops and Rangers open fire on anybody found moving near the border, they said and added that the agricultural activities behind the Border outposts were going on as usual.

However, the troops did not find any 8220;visible change8221; in the situation along the LoC in the State. Though mortar and other heavy arms fire from across the border had stopped for the last one month, the unprovoked small and medium weapons fire by Pakistani troops was going on as usual there, an Army official said.

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8220;Despite General Musharraf8217;s statement about unilateral withdrawal of troops from the IB, nothing can be said about the intentions of the neighbouring country,8221; a senior Army official said. In this connection, he referred to recent Pakistani attempts to push in armed militants even through the IB in its eagerness to step up militancy in the State after its humiliating defeat in Kargil.

There cannot be any complacency along the borders asPakistan was still aiding and abetting insurgency in the State, especially when it was desperate to push in more and more militants from its side before the onset of winter season, sources said.