The situation along the Line of Control and the International Border, which have been witnessing frequent ceasefire violations, came up for a review at a high-level meeting headed by Defence Minister A.K. Antony on Monday.
The issue of ceasefire violation was discussed at the meeting attended by National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon, Defence Secretary R.K. Mathur and the three Services chiefs, Defence Ministry officials said here.
This year, there have been more than 140 ceasefire violations by the Pakistan Army along the LoC and the IB, and even today a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) of the Army was killed in the firing in Uri sector of Jammu and Kashmir.
The issue of ceasefire violations has been discussed between the DGMOs of the two countries more than twice in the last week where the Indian side is understood to have asked for a flag meeting between the BSF and its Pakistani counterparts.
During the one-hour meeting, Mr. Antony was briefed by the army about the steps taken by it in the situation and its ways of handling ceasefire violations by the Pakistan Army.
The army has asked its local formation commanders to respond to any ceasefire violation in the strongest possible manner and adopt an aggressive stance there.
This is the first high-level review meeting chaired by the Defence Minister after the 15-day operation by the Army last month in Keran sector along the LoC over which questions have been raised.
The meeting is also understood to have discussed the recently-signed Border Defence Cooperation Agreement with China to prevent any face-offs on the Line of Actual Control and its impact in addressing India’s concern there.
Published - October 28, 2013 07:29 pm IST
