BSF chief vows retaliation if Pakistan fires

The BSF will retaliate if Pakistani forces target it, its chief D.K. Pathak said Tuesday, adding his men had foiled three-four attempts by terrorists since Dec 31 to sneak into India.

"Prevalence of peace (is the) best situation. But if Pakistan does not want peace, if firing comes from their side, we will definitely respond," he said.

"We cannot go on taking bullets," Pathak added, after paying tributes to a Border Security Force trooper killed Monday in shelling in Samba district by the Pakistani border guards.

He said there had been no firing on the border since Monday night.

The BSF director general admitted that Pakistan too suffered civilian deaths but said it was "collateral damage". India, he said, never targeted civilian areas.

"The BSF never targets civilian area, there can be collateral damage... But they always fire first and target our civilian areas."

Asked about the provocation for the Pakistani firing, Pathak said: "There can be more than one...

"Since Dec 31, we have foiled three to four attempts of infiltration... We have good proof of this.

"There can be multiple reasons for the escalation in firing. It is possible they are trying to divert attention from Peshawar," said Pathak, referring to the massacre of over 140 students and teachers.

"...maybe it is because of the Republic Day," he added. US President Barack Obama will be the chief guest at the Republic Day in New Delhi Jan 26.

He said the last communication with Pakistan was Jan 1.

"On Jan 3, we went to deliver a protest note which they refused to accept. The note was then sent to Wagah border, they refused to accept it there as well. So there has been no communication," he added.

There has been intermittent firing on the international border in Jammu and Kashmir for some two months.