Enraged at the killing of a Border Security Force (BSF) personnel along the border due to firing from the Pakistani side, Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Wednesday said India would fittingly reply to such unprovoked acts of violence from across the border.
“We will give a fitting reply to Pakistan,” Shinde told reporters, reacting to Tuesday's firing by Pakistani troops on 50 BSF outposts along the international border.
On Tuesday, Mukesh Lal Meena, a BSF Head Constable from Rajasthan who was posted in BOP Chinaz, was killed and seven BSF personnel, including two officers, were injured in cross-border firing. The fresh ceasefire violation took place hours after Shinde visited the Jammu region to review the situation and discuss ways to deal with the Pakistani firing.
The Centre is rushing additional troops to the international border in Jammu and Kashmir. There have been 204 ceasefire violations along the Line of Control (LoC) and the international border till October 22 this year, the highest in the past eight years.
On the infiltration attempts, Shinde said the forces are facing some practical problems in fencing the whole area, as there are rivers and rivulets which are tough to fence. He added, “We have discussed possible solutions.”
BSF DIG Dharminder Parikh said India is prepared to reply to Pakistan as it continues to violate ceasefire. He said Indian forces are thrice in strength to the Pakistanis along the border. “We have all kinds of preparations to reply to them. Whatever they fire, we have better arms and ammunition,” he said.
Officials in the paramilitary forces said they are monitoring the situation, and any ceasefire violation would be dealt with strongly.
In a bid to strengthen the vigil along the LoC and the international border, the BSF and other agencies are now planning to install unattended ground sensors (UGSs). Officials said the prevailing security scenario has forced the BSF to think about augmenting its surveillance mechanism.
According to them, UGSs could help them effectively cover the gaps between border outposts and the likely routes of infiltration and ex-filtration. These could also be deployed on the international border to provide all-weather coverage from 150 to 500 metres.
The UGSs, the officials said, could alert the security agencies of intruders' locations in real time. This early warning system can be deployed far away from a base or other secured areas, and in very little time.
The BSF has now issued an Expression of Interest as it initiates the tendering process in this regard.
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