Army for flag meet to defuse tension

No let up in firing; both sides blame each other

The Indian Army has proposed to hold a flag meeting soon, to discuss ways to restore normalcy along the 740-km Line of Control, where ceasefire has been maintained since November, 2003.

“A flag meeting at the brigade level may be convened for the resolution of issues leading to ceasefire violation, killing and mutilation of one soldier’s body. The date and location will be finalised after receiving Pakistan's response,” an Army officer said on Thursday.

Two days after the killing of two Indian soldiers of the 13 Rajputana Rifles, there was no let up in cross-border firing, with both sides blaming each other for the mortar and grenade attacks. On Thursday afternoon, the Pakistan army shelled Battal in Poonch sector for nearly two hours, inviting retaliatory action from India.

In Islamabad, the Pakistani army claimed that one of its soldiers was killed in the firing, a charge refuted by the Indian Army.

Defence Minister A K Antony briefed the Cabinet Committee on Security, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, on the tense border situation, an upshot of the “unprovoked” display of brutality by the Pakistani soldiers.

Once in three days

Though the events that gave shape to Tuesday’s skirmish leading to the death of Lance Naiks Sudhakar Singh and Hem Raj remain unclear, officials said incidences of ceasefire violation have surged in the last one year. The ceasefire was violated almost once in every three days in 2012. “There has been an increase in ceasefire violations. There has been an increase in infiltration attempts. And that is something we are dealing with, both ourselves and with the Pakistani authorities,” said National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon.

As many as 117 instances of ceasefire violations were recorded in 2012, bulk of which occurred in the last five months. Between February and July, only 26 cases were recorded. In 2011, 30 instances of ceasefire violations were recorded, as against 44 in 2010. “Pakistan had carried out ceasefire violation on the night of January 5-6 and controlled retaliation was carried out by the Indian side on January 6,” the Army said in a statement.

“No line of control transgression has been resorted to by the Indian Army in Uri on January 6 as alleged,” the statement added.

Despite Pakistan denying involvement of its soldiers in the incident, both Antony and the Army reiterated that it was a handiwork of men in Pakistani uniform and not infiltrators. On Wednesday, Antony stated: “Pakistani army’s action is highly objectionable and also the way they treated the body of the Indian soldier is inhuman.”

“Sadly, it is not the first time this has happened. I hope it never happens again. But we have also told you exactly what we intend to do,” Menon said, hinting at External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid’s comments on the government’s plan to scale down tension in the conflict zone. Khurshid had underlined that India did not want to engage Pakistan publicly. “India wants to exhaust all standard procedures first," he had said.