A Neighbourly Feeling: Rangers exchange gifts with Indian BSF

The meetings between the commanders of the two paramilitary forces are held to discuss affairs of mutual interest

SIALKOT: Officials from Pakistan’s Chenab Rangers and India’s Border Security Force (BSF) exchanged gifts with each other during a regularly scheduled meeting between the commanders of the two paramilitary forces. The meetings are held as part of a mechanism devised in the early days of Partition to discuss affairs of mutual interest, such as law enforcement and curbing smuggling. Indian officials allowed their Pakistani counterparts to visit the shrine of Hazart Baba Chambliwal, a Muslim saint buried on the Indian side of the border, where the meeting was held. A festival commemorating the saint’s life is being held in the border village of Tulsipur.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 25^th, 2011.