RECORDER REPORT

ISLAMABAD: The Senate was informed on Friday that India violated 2003’s ceasefire agreement on the Line of Control (LoC) for 103 times in past one year and 58 times after Uri attack, which took place on September 18, 2016.

A report of the Senate Joint Committee on Defence and Foreign Affairs titled as ‘Aftermath of the Drone Strike against Mullah Akhter Mansoor; Impact on Pakistan-US Security Relations,’ prepared by Mushahid Hussain Sayed and Nuzhat Sadiq, was presented in Senate on the orders of Chairman Senate during the Senate sitting.

The report said that 40 percent to 60 percent of the armed forces of India deployed in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) were currently out of their cantonments whereas one additional division has been moved into the Occupied Valley.

It cited relevant facts and figures shared with two Senate panels in related briefings given by Secretary Defence Lt. General Zamir-ul-Hassan Shah (retd) and Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry.

Surfaced at a time when Pak-India hostility is at peak after the Indian security forces targeted seven Pakistani soldiers on the LoC, prompting the Pakistan’s military to retaliate and kill 11 Indian soldiers, the report says that in the backdrop of the existing situation, all the three armed forces have ensured their operational preparedness.

“(Apart from Army), Pakistan Air Force is also very active and is conducting exercises Hallmark. Our airbases are alert. The Pakistan Navy is also active and alert in the seas. Pakistan does not initiate any border violations but all border violations are responded adequately. So far, the activity from India is confined to ceasefire violations only, of which a befitting response is given by Pakistani side.”

The Senate’s document cited the piece of information that India deployed SU aircraft in the IOK, which can possibly have three consequences: application of an indirect strategy by India to target soft and high-value targets; the ground strategy whereby ground and air activity by Indian forces is a possibility; and combination of both these strategies. “Pakistan is aware of this situation,” said the report.

Rejecting India’s claim of a supposed ‘surgical strike’ inside Pakistani territory, the document said that the same required physical crossing of the LoC with a physical attack on the predetermined target. “None of these actions took place so there can be no question of a surgical strike.”

In a recent briefing to the Senate’s defence panel, the Secretary Defence stated that Pakistan shared 1,094 kilometres of international border with India, 193 km Working Boundary (between Pakistan and IOK) and 768 km LoC (between AJK and IOK). “There are 598 gates installed at international border and 179 gates at the Working Boundary. The framework of border management between the two countries is based on the Border Ground Rules 1960m” the report added.

On Pak-Afghan border situation, the report reveals that since mid-August following the launch of operation Khyber-III, 86 cross-border violations from Afghan territory have taken place. Two serious incidents of cross-border firing over the past week were reported.

“The presence of a number of insurgent groups in the area on the Afghan side makes it difficult to ascertain whether the firing/shelling has been done by the security forces or the insurgents. Pakistan is following an effective border management policy by maintaining close coordination with Afghan government through regular consultations.”

According to related findings of Directorate General of Military Operations shared with the Senate’s defence and foreign affairs panels, there are above 100 crossing points, including small entry points, at Pak-Afghan border. Of them, 78 are main crossing-points, out of which 62 are non-frequent and 16 are frequent.

Pakistan has a highly porous border of 2,611km with Afghanistan which poses a major challenge in checking the flow of terrorists, miscreants, drug traffickers and smugglers.

As a result of operation Zarb-e-Azb, the terrorists and miscreants have either been obliterated or have left the area. Effective border management measures were instituted at Torkham border crossing from June 1 as a model project by introducing travel documentation regime, the report states.

It notes that the key to resolution of all outstanding disputes between Afghanistan and Pakistan lies in the reconciliation process “which unfortunately has been stalled after the Mullah Mansoor incident.”