Pakistan increasingly deploying its army personnel along the 190km international border in Jammu at border outposts and camps usually manned by the Pakistan Rangers, a TOI report said.
Top BSF sources confirmed to TOI that the Pakistani army had deployed soldiers and weaponry at the Rangers' posts, placing regular Pakistan troops face to face with the BSF.
"It's difficult to say if the Pakistani army has taken control of the Rangers' posts at IB but there is certainly a lot of movement, with many vehicles regularly bringing soldiers and arms. This has been going on for the past 8-9 days," said a senior official to TOI.
There is no intelligence input on what the Pakistani army is doing exactly, but the intent seems to be to beef up military presence along the international border.
Earlier, the Indian Army on Friday said that the Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire 99 times along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir after Indian forces carried out surgical strikes in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
“Pakistani troops have violated the ceasefire along LoC in Jammu and Kashmir 99 times after the surgical strike by Indian Army troops on terror launch pads in PoK,” a senior Army officer said.
Giving the break-up of these violations, the officer said that 83 ceasefire violations by Pakistani troops took place along the LoC in Jammu region falling under 16 Corps area.
“In addition to that, 16 ceasefire violations have been recorded along the LoC in Kashmir region falling under 15 corps area,” he added.
The worst-ever Pakistani shelling targeting civil population took place on November 1 when eight persons, including two children and four women, were killed and 22 others injured along the IB and the LoC in five sectors of J&K, forcing Indian troops to give befitting reply by destroying 14 Pakistani posts and killing two of their troopers.
The state government had closed over 400 schools along the International Border (IB) and the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu region in wake of the ongoing heavy cross-border firing. A total of 18 people, including 12 civilians, were killed and more than 83 suffered injuries in Pakistani shelling and firing along IB and LoC in Jammu.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had on Wednesday asked the army personnel posted along the Line of Control to remain alert and give a befitting response to any “misadventure” from across the border.
(With PTI inputs)
