Let’s keep it quite between the lines
Pakistan and India Tuesday decided to “revitalise” existing mechanisms to maintain truce on the Line of Control (LoC).
The accord was reached at the meeting of the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of the two sides, who held face-to-face talks for the first time in 14 years at the Wahga border.
A joint statement said, “The DGMOs agreed to reenergise the existing mechanisms to maintain ceasefire on the LoC.”
“We had a cordial, constructive and fruitful meeting. We discussed the ceasefire along the Line of Control and the existing mechanisms,” DGMO Lt Gen Vinod Bhatia said after two-hour-long talks with his Pakistani counterpart Maj Gen Aamer Riaz.
“We both decided to ensure ceasefire and strengthen the existing mechanisms”, he said.
Director General Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) Maj Gen Asim Saleem Bajwa said that meeting between DGMOs of Pakistan Army and Indian Army was held in a cordial atmosphere and remained positive.
“Both the sides discussed to further reinforce the ceasefire agreement concluded between Pakistan and India in 2003 to reduce tensions along the LoC and Working Boundary,” he said.
The statement further adds that DGMOs has also decided to make their hotline contact “more effective and result-oriented.”
In order to ensure early repatriation, both sides decided to inform each other as soon as possible if a civilian inadvertently crosses the LoC.
Besides tensions on the LoC, the DGMOs discussed matters related to the international boundary with a focus on maintaining the 2003 ceasefire and ensuring normalcy.
While much of the meeting went in a more cordial manner, the Indian side confronted the Pakistanis over the killing of five Indian soldiers and the beheading of an Indian jawan in Jammu and Kashmir this year.
A senior official said the Indian side took a “forceful stand” against the murders that had soured bilateral ties.
In a meeting that lasted close to two and half hours, the DGMOs also agreed to hold two flag meetings between brigade commanders on the LoC in the Poonch or Uri sectors in the near future to ensure peace and tranquillity along the volatile border.
India has accused Pakistan of violating the November 2003 border truce more than 250 times this year.
The two armies also agreed to inform each other if any civilian inadvertently crosses the LoC to ensure early return.
Two brigadiers and two colonels assisted Pakistani DGMO, while two brigadiers and three colonels aided his Indian counterpart.
Pakistan Army DGMO Maj Gen Aamer Riaz had extended invitation to the DGMO of Indian Army for this meeting, which the latter accepted after consultation with his military and political leadership.
Analysts say this meeting was an outcome of talks between Prime Ministers Nawaz Sharif and Indian premier Manmohan Singh in New York in September at the height of tensions triggered by the LoC flare-ups. The premiers had decided the DGMOs should hold talks to reduce tensions.
