Chamlayal (Ramgarh), June 23: Border Security Force (BSF) on Thursday said it is working on a proposal for joint patrolling of International Border (IB) with Pakistan Rangers.
“There is a proposal for joint patrolling of border by the forces of the two countries but no decision has been taken on it so far. We are working on different proposals and joint patrolling is one of them. Presently lot of steps are being taken to develop better understanding and coordination between the soldiers from both the sides,” the IG BSF frontier, S Chattopadhyay told reporters on the sidelines of Chamlayal Mela at the ‘No Man’s Land’ here.
He asserted that relations between the forces guarding the border on the either side had improved. “We have increased surveillance on our side while they (Pak Rangers) are checking all the activities on their side,” he said.
He said the situation on the International Border (IB) had remained “calm” during past 4-years and number of “untoward incidents” has reduced to a great extent.
“The situation on the IB is under control and it is very calm in comparison to the past four years. In 2007 we had at least 28 incidents on the IB, in  2008, 58 incidents were reported, in 2009 these came down to 36, while  in 2010 (from January to July) the number was  38 which further decreased to just 9  from August 2010 to till date. It indicates that situation has improved to a great extent,” he said.
The IG asserted that there has been a decline in infiltration attempts from the other side but he was quick to add that there are about 150 to 175 militant camps functional along the IB and in each of these there are around 15 to 20 militants who are waiting for a chance to cross over to this side. “We have had a few incidents which indicate that militants are still active there” he said.
Referring to the Amarnath Yatra, he said, “There is no specific information about any threat to the Yatra but there threat perspective always looms large whenever there is a major religious occasion like Amarnath Yatra, so the forces are on alert.”
Earlier, he informed that Pak Rangers led by Brigadier Masood handed over a Chadder to the BSF officials to put at the Chamliyal shrine.
“There was no border related agenda since it was a religious occasion which has its own sanctity. These occasions provide an opportunity for better understanding between the two sides,” he said.

Lastupdate on : Thu, 23 Jun 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Thu, 23 Jun 2011 18:30:00 GMT
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