BSF-Pakistan Rangers meet from September 9

New Delhi, September 6, 2015:- Ceasefire violations in Jammu and Kashmir, intrusion in Rann of Kutch and smuggling are among the key issues India is expected to raise with Pakistan during the five-day Director-General -level talks between their border guarding forces from September 9.

A 16-member delegation headed by Pakistan Rangers Director-General (Punjab) Major General Umar Farooq Burki is expected to travel to Attari-Wagah border crossing in Punjab on September 8 and later fly down from Amritsar to participate in the talks in Delhi with the Border Security Force (BSF) from September 9-13, officials said.

The Indian delegation with as many members will be led by BSF chief Devendra Kumar Pathak.

The BSF will take up the issue of intrusion in the ‘Harami Nallah’ area of the Rann of Kutch in Gujarat, smuggling of contraband from across the border and illegal movement of suspects up to the zero line area along the IB in order to facilitate illegal activities.

The Rangers in their agenda have included issues like the alleged use of objectionable language by troops on the Indian side and air space violations by suspected unmanned aerial vehicles.

They have also listed alleged construction of defence infrastructure along the border, firing by taking aid of ‘sarkanda’ (thick bushes), no response on Simultaneous Coordinated Patrolling (SCP) along this frontier, smuggling and apprehension and killing of civilians.