Pakistan delegation in India for border talks
Pakistan Rangers official says issues pertaining to unprovoked ceasefire violations and smuggling will be discussed
DG Pakistan Rangers (Punjab) Major General Umar Farooq Burki, along with a Pakistani delegation, leaves for New Delhi to hold bi-annual talks with Indian Border Security Force (BSF) on Wednesday September 09, 2015. PHOTO: NNI
A 16-member Pakistani delegation crossed over from Wagah into India on Wednesday for to hold bi-annual talks with Indian Border Security Force (BSF).
"In order to avoid losses to innocent civilian lives and properties, the delegation will discuss issues pertaining to unprovoked ceasefire violations, smuggling and safe and early return of those inadvertently cross the border," a Pakistan Rangers official said.
"Both border guarding forces will discuss professional matters related to border management," the official added.
Read: Rangers, BSF heads to meet in New Delhi tomorrow
The talks, which will take place from September 9 to September 12, will be held alternatively in India and Pakistan.
The delegation headed by Director General for Pakistan Rangers (Punjab) Major General Umar Farooq Burki comprises of Punjab and Sindh Rangers, officials from the interior ministry and the anti-narcotics force.
The 16-member delegation was welcomed by senior Border Security Force (BSF) officers in Attari. The delegation later left on a special aircraft for New Delhi where the four-day talks would take place, said the report.
On August 26, the announcement for the meeting between DG Pakistan Rangers and inspector general (IG) of India’s Border Security Force (BSF) came barely a week after the last-minute cancellation of a scheduled meeting between the national security advisers of the two countries.
The meeting which comes after talks between national security advisers of both countries were called off, is a routine meeting and not part of the understanding reached between Premier Nawaz Sharif and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in the Russian city of Ufa.
Pakistan has urged the United Nations Security Council to take notice of the escalating incidents of firing by Indian troops across the LoC in the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir and the Working Boundary in which a large number of civilians have been killed and injured.
Read: Pakistan’s concerns over Indian ceasefire violations are legitimate, says former US ambassador
According to a statement released by Pakistan’s UN mission, Indian security forces violated the ceasefire 36 times in July this year, killing five civilians and injuring six others. The number spiked significantly in August, the statement said, with some 20 civilians killed and 97 other wounded in 90 ceasefire violations by India.
"In order to avoid losses to innocent civilian lives and properties, the delegation will discuss issues pertaining to unprovoked ceasefire violations, smuggling and safe and early return of those inadvertently cross the border," a Pakistan Rangers official said.
"Both border guarding forces will discuss professional matters related to border management," the official added.
Read: Rangers, BSF heads to meet in New Delhi tomorrow
The talks, which will take place from September 9 to September 12, will be held alternatively in India and Pakistan.
The delegation headed by Director General for Pakistan Rangers (Punjab) Major General Umar Farooq Burki comprises of Punjab and Sindh Rangers, officials from the interior ministry and the anti-narcotics force.
The 16-member delegation was welcomed by senior Border Security Force (BSF) officers in Attari. The delegation later left on a special aircraft for New Delhi where the four-day talks would take place, said the report.
On August 26, the announcement for the meeting between DG Pakistan Rangers and inspector general (IG) of India’s Border Security Force (BSF) came barely a week after the last-minute cancellation of a scheduled meeting between the national security advisers of the two countries.
The meeting which comes after talks between national security advisers of both countries were called off, is a routine meeting and not part of the understanding reached between Premier Nawaz Sharif and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in the Russian city of Ufa.
Pakistan has urged the United Nations Security Council to take notice of the escalating incidents of firing by Indian troops across the LoC in the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir and the Working Boundary in which a large number of civilians have been killed and injured.
Read: Pakistan’s concerns over Indian ceasefire violations are legitimate, says former US ambassador
According to a statement released by Pakistan’s UN mission, Indian security forces violated the ceasefire 36 times in July this year, killing five civilians and injuring six others. The number spiked significantly in August, the statement said, with some 20 civilians killed and 97 other wounded in 90 ceasefire violations by India.