CHANDIGARH: The Border Security Force (BSF) has lodged a protest with Pakistan Rangers, after the neighbouring country displayed a large photograph of Kashmiri separatist leader Late Syed Ali Shah Geelani of Hurriyat Conference at the joint integrated check post at Attari-Wagah border on the Pakistani side, as Attari is on the Indian side and Wagah on the Pakistani side.
Sources said that the photograph of Geelani has been put up near the site of the flag-lowering ceremony at the JICP on the Wagah side in Pakistan. "This photograph has been put up by the Pakistani authorities recently and we have lodged a strong protest with the Pakistani Ranger as this area is for regimental and ceremonial purposes and thus should not be used for political purposes or posturing and this photograph should be removed,’’ said a senior official of the BSF on condition of anonymity.
He further said that this move by Pakistan at this high-profile location is intended to influence the visitors coming for the Beat-the-Retreat Ceremony, trying to shape international perceptions and also a sentiment of the electorate. It is a provocative act to highlight the Kashmir issue and accelerate tensions.
Sources added that putting the photograph of Geelani who was a prominent but highly controversial leader in the Kashmiri separatist movement at the border check post could be part of a broader strategy to fortify its support for the separatist movement. Sources also said that this comes at the time against the backdrop of the recent escalation in the incidents of terrorism, upcoming elections in Jammu & Kashmir and the neighboring country wants to draw a reaction and generate further tension. Besides this, by doing so the neighboring country is trying to divert attention from its domestic issues.
Another official of a central agency added that this move seems to be a tactic to attract and draw international attention and to focus on the Kashmir issue.
Meanwhile, the drones are carrying drugs and ammunition from the neighbouring country into India via the Punjab sector this year. BSF has recovered 120 drones so far as compared to 107 such seizures made last year. Also, some 48 culverts are being constructed over the Ravi and the Sutlej rivers along the international border in Punjab border, out of which work on 25 is complete. The culverts are provided with sewage gates and locks and these are being checked regularly by BSF patrols, said sources.
The BSF also needs more personnel in its intelligence (G branch) presently operating in a 50-kilometre area from the border. Due to the deployment of teams of this branch, it has resulted in recovery of a number of drones besides drugs and weapons and the force is also raising a mounted unit of horse-riding women troops to patrol the front like the male personnel, said sources.