Befitting reply being given to Pak firing: BSF DG

BSF troopers are giving a befitting reply to unprovoked firing from Pakistan on the international border in Jammu and Kashmir, Border Security Force Director General K.K. Sharma said on Sunday.

"They (Pakistan) keep indulging in ceasefire violations from time to time. They also snipe at our men. Despite of all these operational challenges, the BSF has given them a befitting reply," he told media here after laying the foundation stone of the headquarters of BSF's Special Director General, Western Command.

"We have a free hand always and we have given a befitting reply on all the occasions. On each occasion, we have inflicted more casualties on the other side (Pakistani Rangers). I would like to make one thing clear that we never initiate ceasefire violations and it is the other side which starts as a result of which we have to retaliate and react.

"On the Pakistan side, we know that we have a hostile neighbour. We know they keep on trying to infiltrate militants," he said.

Sharma said that the BSF remained "prepared to face any eventuality" on the border with Pakistan, though he could not say how and when the unprovoked firing and ceasefire violations in Jammu and Kashmir sector will stop.

"We must realize that we are dealing with a very hostile neighbour in Pakistan. It is their state policy to ensure that militants sneak in, it is their policy to keep these two Kashmir and Jammu borders alive... so that internationally they would score the points...," he said.

The BSF chief said that the force, which faces different challenges along the border with Pakistan and Bangladesh, planned to plug gaps along the country's borders through the Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System (CIBMS), an integrated technology system to ensure electronic surveillance of borders.

Regarding the 553-km long fenced international border with Pakistan in Punjab, Sharma said that the main challenge here was about smuggling of drugs from Pakistan side.

--IANS

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