The day Indian and Pakistan child rights activists won 2014 Nobel Peace Prize jointly a source of pride for people across borders, the guns blazing on the borders on Friday shifted to diplomatic rooms, with both countries exchanging warnings. It was lull along border, which came along with prime minister Narendra Modi’s statement that Pakistan has been taught a "befitting lesson" with the Army "shutting their mouth”. Earlier, defence minister Arun Jaitley also made similar comments without explaining. Sources, however, here say it was a tactical and selective “fire assaults” launched by the Army to target ration stocks, water storage facilities and more so to Advance Winter Stockings (AWS) of Pakistan Army 10 Corps’ “Adam base, the Modi and Jaitley had been referring to and responsible for leading to a halt in shillings.
The guns, however, continued to blaze form diplomatic offices of both the countries. Reacting to Pakistani allegations that India had initiated attacks on its villages and soldiers and also its complaining at the United Nations, the official spokesperson of Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Syed Akbaruddin took pot-shots at Islamabad. "The allegation that India started firing originated in Pakistan, a country which harboured al Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden for over a decade in a military garrison town. There is no need to say anything more," he said.
Saying the de-escalation was totally in the hands of Pakistan, the spokesperson said there was no scope of involvement of the UN or its military observer group, which is functioning on scant resources and a relic of by-gone era. Also indicating that India will make no move for peace till Pakistan stops its guns from blazing.
He also clarified that new government was always serious about bilateral talks with Pakistan. “We have shown readiness to take the first step to engage with Pakistan in a peaceful manner. But what have we got in return? A media spectacle before foreign secretary-level talks, hostile statements at the UN, violence against citizens at the international boundary. It is up to Pakistan to now de-escalate. This is entirely in Pakistan's hands," the MEA spokesperson said. "We have no fear of talks, but we will not talk out of fear,” he added.
Earlier Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif said India should not misunderstand his desire for peace and immediately halt firing across the borders.
While there is nothing new in border firings, but what has perplexed the experts is that current firing incident are mostly confined to the International Border to the west and south west of Jammu and to the east of Sialkot in Pakistan. This border is manned by the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Pakistan Rangers, also a paramilitary force. There are more civilians closer to the Line of Control on the Pakistani side just as there are more civilians closer to the International Boundary on the Indian side.
Reports reaching here stated that the firing had escalated from October 1 after a Mahar regiment soldier of the Indian Army was killed by an improvised explosive device (IED) near Balnoi in Mendhar. It was retaliated immediately by the Army. The recent floods that hit Jammu and Kashmir have also hit defence installations along the borders. At some places, 10 to 15 metres of the fence was washed away or caved in.
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