India wary of Pak proposal to monitor border violations

India is wary of Pakistan's proposal for a mechanism to monitor ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) as well as the border's undisputed stretch.

The sentiment stems from senior government officials' view that such a mechanism could bring the Pakistani Army into the engagement process' forefront.

New Delhi is exploring the possibility of restarting the stalled dialogue with the Pakistani government led by M Nawaz Sharif, but is still reluctant to enter into any institutional mechanism for interaction with the Pakistani Army.

The issue is likely to figure in the discussions when the two prime minister’s national security advisers (NSA) meet in New Delhi.

Sharif’s National Security and Foreign Affairs Advisor Sartaj Aziz is expected to formally propose the mechanism during his visit from August 23. 

Aziz will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s NSA Ajit Doval to primarily discuss all terrorism-related issues, as agreed upon by New Delhi and Islamabad when the two prime ministers had met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s summit at Ufa in Russia on July 10.

The issue of ceasefire violations and ways to avert exchange of fire across the border would also be discussed, officials told Deccan Herald. 

The Indian Army’s Director General (Military Operation) now speaks to his counterpart in Pakistan Army over phone, once, or if required more than once, a week to discuss issues related to ceasefire violations. 

Islamabad has been informally proposing “a more effective ceasefire monitoring mechanism”, like the one India has with China along the disputed Line of Actual Control.

Islamabad routinely registers complaints with the United Nations Military Observers Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) against alleged ceasefire violations by the Indian Army along the LoC. New Delhi, however, does not recognise the UNMOGIP.