NEW DELHI:India will not fire the first bullet on the border but Pakistan must ensure that terrorists do not infiltrate from its territory, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh told the visiting Pakistan Rangers delegation on Friday. Invoking former PM Atal Behari Vajpayee, the Home Minister said: “We can change friends, but not the neighbours. So let us work towards peace and cordial relationship with all the neighbouring countries.”
Read More: India is More Islamic Than Pakistan: Rajnath
During the meeting with the Pakistan delegation led by Major General Umar Farooq Burki, Rajnath acknowledged that both the countries were affected by terrorism and they must unite to fight the menace. “Why fire on BSF? Let’s not fire on each other’s uniform. If you want to, fire on terrorists who cross over the border,” he told the delegation.
Rajnath also reminded Burki that India has more Muslims than Pakistan and was more Islamic than the neighbouring country. “India is home to all the 72 ‘firkas’ (sects) of Muslims, which no other country has and it also has more Muslim population than Pakistan. India can be called more Islamic than Pakistan.”
According to sources, both the sides decided to put in place pre-fire protocol to deal with frequent tension along the border. The pre-fire protocol will include Commandant-level meeting as well as DIG-level meeting to contain the situation. If needed illumination bombs etc can also be made part of the arrangement to prevent ceasefire violation and heavy civilian causality.