Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 25: Pakistani Rangers again indulged in small arms firing along the International Border in Hiranagar sector of Kathua district for second consecutive day today, drawing retaliation from the Border Security Force (BSF).
Pakistani Rangers resorted to unprovoked small arms firing in forward areas in Pansar border out post belt of Hiranagar sector of Kathua at 1:30 pm today, official sources said.
BSF troops, guarding the borderline, replied to the Pakistani firing resulting into brief intermittent exchanges.
There was no loss of life or injury to anyone in the firing exchanges.
This is second ceasefire violation in the past two days. The Pakistani troops had yesterday targeted the forward areas in Pansar Border Outpost (BoP) of Hiranagar sector.
They had targeted border areas throughout August this year and for over 15 days in October, killing 11 people and leaving over 100 injured. Over 32,000 people were also displaced.
PTI adds from New Delhi: Facing difficulty in guarding riverine sections of Indo-Pak border, the BSF has started installing laser walls to fill the gaps which saw several breach by militants from across the border.
The BSF, which guards the 3,323-km border, excluding the Line of Control, has developed its own technical solutions like Farheen laser wall which is very useful to guard the fencing gaps.
“The laser has been installed in area of river Basantar, Bein Nallah, Karol Krishna and Paloa Nallah in the Jammu region,” a Home Ministry official said.
In September 26, 2013, heavily armed militants entered into Hiranagar in Jammu from across the border through a riverine section of the border and killed 10 people, including a Lieutenant Colonel.
In March, three terrorists in Army fatigues killed a jawan and two civilians in Jammu’s Kathua district. They too were believed to have breached the riverine section of the border.
Sensor blips and alerts border guards in case there is a movement along the unfenced stretch of the frontier which is located in difficult terrain. A similar laser-guided gadget is being put to test to detect hidden tunnels in border areas and undulating land.
The BSF is also testing laser-guided and temperature sensitive radars that send out an alarm as soon as someone cuts the light path.
Such techniques are being used in countries like Israel and Singapore to guard their respective borders.
The ‘smart fence’ mechanism is part of an over Rs 4,500-crore modernisation plan being implemented by BSF, country’s largest border guarding force with over 2.5 lakh personnel under its command.
BSF also guards the 4096-km-long Indo-Bangla border.
At present, about 15 per cent of the Indo-Pak border and about 35 per cent of the Indo-Bangla frontier are unfenced.
The BSF, in a maiden initiative, is also undertaking an ambitious upgrading of its surveillance equipment, guns and artillery to effectively secure over 7,000-km border on the western and eastern fronts of the country.
The latest induction in BSF’s modern weaponry include X-95 assault rifle, 9 mm beretta carbine and barrel grenade launcher.
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