India, Pak army officials to meet in Pooch on Friday

Senior military officials of India and Pakistan will meet on Friday in Pooch sector in Jammu and Kashmir to discuss ways to strengthen the cease-fire along the Line of Control (LoC) against the backdrop of violations in the recent past.

Brigade commanders of the two countries will meet in Chakan da Bagh area as part of a decision taken during the meeting of the DGMOs last month at the Wagah border.

Ways to strengthen the cease-fire will be the focus of the meeting, Army officials said here.

In the DGMOs meeting on December 24, it was decided that two flag meetings between brigade commanders will be held on the LoC to ensure peace and tranquillity and the hotline mechanism between them would be made 'more effective and result-oriented'.

A few months back, the LoC was witness to major violations from the Pakistani side and the issue had to be taken up by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif in New York.

Army chief Gen Bikram Singh on Monday warned Pakistan against any breaking any rules on the LoC saying India will respond with equal measure.

Soon after the Army chief made these remarks, the Pakistani military said such "provocative" statements were counter productive and claimed that his statement was "contrary to the facts on ground".

India had also raised the issue of cross-border raids by Pakistan Army troops and the frequent cease-fire violations by them during the DGMO meeting.