M A I N   N E W S

‘Peace protocol’ tops agenda as India, Pak DGMOs meet today
Ajay Banerjee
Tribune News Service

BSF officials to meet Pak Rangers in Lahore A high-level meeting between BSF officials and Pakistani Rangers will begin in Lahore on Tuesday The BSF is expected to present evidence of “lapses” on part of Rangers that resulted in escalation of tension along the International Border in October this year n Two BSF men were killed and 31 others were injured in Pak shelling in October

Amritsar, December 23
The Director Generals of Military Operations (DGMOs) of India and Pakistan have been asked to draw up a “peace protocol” for their respective armies along the shared boundary running through Jammu and Kashmir.

The two DGMOs - Indian Army’s Lt Gen Vinod Bhatia and his Pakistani counterpart Maj Gen Amir Riaz - will sit across the table to work out the modalities at the Wagah-Attari border tomorrow, a first such event in 14 years.

Sources say the two military officers, who control operations of huge armies on either side of border, have been asked to “suggest effective means for restoration and enforcement of the ceasefire, and ensure that it remains in force”.

The two officers have been talking over a dedicated hotline every Tuesday and have made some progress, reducing firing on either side after their interaction on October 25 and 29.

“There has been a significant reduction in the incidents of ceasefire violations after the telephonic talks,” Defence Minister AK Antony had acknowledged in Lok Sabha on December 17.

An understanding on having a DGMOs’ meeting was reached when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on September 29.

National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon later echoed India’s concerns saying: “It has been decided to first tackle the immediate issue of tranquility on the border before moving forward on other issues.”

The 2003 ceasefire along the 198-km section of the International Border and 749-km Line of Control (LoC) has been breached on several occasions.

Both sides accuse each other of killing and injuring civilians, damaging homes and sporadic killing of troops. Both countries have aggressive action teams that patrol the border.

This year has been the worst with the two sides making 195 ceasefire violations, a jump from 44, 51 and 93 such violations in 2010, 2011 and 2012, respectively.