More BSF troops to secure border: Shinde

Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Wednesday said a fitting reply would be given against such unprovoked acts from across the border.

Mr. Shinde said additional BSF troops were being sent to man the International Border (IB) in Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of continuing ceasefire violations.

“We will give a fitting reply to Pakistan,” Mr. Shinde told reporters here in his reaction to Tuesday’s firing by Pakistani troops on 50 BSF outposts along international border.

The firing came on the heels of a visit by Mr. Shinde to the Jammu region on Tuesday to review the situation along the border and discuss ways to deal with ceasefire violations.

Altogether, more than 130 ceasefire violations have been reported so far this year, the highest for the past eight years.

Pakistani Rangers had on Monday opened fire at 10 border posts and heavily shelled over 50 border outposts the following night, killing a head constable of BSF.

Asked about the infiltration attempts, Mr. Shinde said, “There are rivers and rivulets which are tough to fence. But we have discussed possible solutions”.

Mr. Shinde had on Tuesday conducted an aerial tour of the fenced areas along international border besides surveying infiltration routes and damaged fencing and riverine border belts with Pakistan lying between Akhnoor in Jammu district and Pahadpur (in Kathua district).

Shinde does some plainspeaking at Unified HQ meeting

Rattled by the spike in infiltrations in Jammu and Kashmir, Mr. Shinde did some plain speaking on the failure by the Army and other security agencies to contain the damage in Samba terror attack last month that killed 10 people.

During the Unified Headquarters meeting on Tuesday, Mr. Shinde, who was co-chairing the deliberations with Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, said that terrorists were roaming on the streets of Jammu for 35 minutes without being intercepted at any point.

Pakistan-based LeT terrorists had entered through Samba border in the wee hours of September 26 last and killed 10 officers including Lt Col Bikramjeet Singh besides injuring others including Colonel Avin Uthaiya.

The Home Minister said it was a failure at many ends and all the loopholes need to be plugged immediately as otherwise terrorists will take advantage of lack of synergy between various agencies working for peace in the state.

Mr. Shinde also said he was worried over the sudden spike in infiltration from across the border in Jammu and Kashmir.