Srinagar:
Border Security Force (BSF) has detained Pakistani Ranger From the international border in Rajasthan on Saturday. Vikas follows the custody of BSF Constable Purnam Kumar Sahu by Pakistan Rangers. Mr. Sahu was arrested on 23 April, when he unknowingly crossed the international border, saving farmers along with the Ferozepur region in Punjab.
The Pakistani Ranger, whose identity is yet to be revealed, is currently in the custody of BSF’s Rajasthan Frontier.
India and Pakistan have a well -established process to return the BSF youth that accidentally cross the border, but given the increased tension, Pakistan has organized Mr. Sahu, and it is not clear what India will do with the captive Pakistani Ranger.
Hours after Ranger’s custody, Pakistani Army posts opened the fire of small weapons along with the Line (LOC) in several regions on the tenth consecutive day on the night intervening on May 3-4, including Kupwara, Baramalla, Ponch, Rajouri, Nahar, Naushera, Sunderbani and Akhanur. According to military sources, the Indian Army units replied immediately and proportionate.
It marked the most widespread ceasefire violation in recent times, with a maximum number of Pakistani positions participating together. There has been no death so far.
Several meetings have been held to secure the release of Mr. Sahu, but the Pakistani side has not committed the timeline or even confirmed his current situation.
Mr. Sahu, posted with the 182nd BSF Battalion, was part of the ‘Kisan Guard’, a unit assigned to protect the land cultivated Indian farmers near the zero line. He called the border alignment wrong and stepped into the Pakistani region to rest under a tree, where he was raised by Pakistani Rangers. The BSF states that such unknown crossings have been rapidly resolved through historically standard operating processes and mutual coordination. However, this time, the Pakistani side has not shown any desire for mutuality.
The government has filed a formal protest with Pakistan through BSF, but senior officials say the response has been “non-caste”. The sector-level flag meetings have not been successful so far. It is believed that Mr. Sahu was taken to the facility of a Pakistan Rangers with Lahore-Amritsar Axis.
The soldier’s wife, Rajani, who is pregnant, traveled to Punjab earlier this week from Rishra in Hooghly district of West Bengal. Arriving at Chandigarh Airport with his son and other family members, he met senior officials of Shri Sahu’s unit in Ferozepur.
Increasing tension between the two countries has been set against the backdrop of a deadly attack on 22 April in the popular tourist destination of Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir, killing 26 people, most of them to the citizens taking holidays. India has accused Pakistan of supporting its domestic terrorists in carrying out attacks from across the border. A group associated with Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tabiba Terror Group has been linked to Pahalgam massacre.
India has also launched a series of punitive measures against Pakistan. These include suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, the closure of the Attari-Vagah land border crossing, the return of diplomatic personnel and the ban on imports from Pakistan. Postal exchanges and port access for Pakistani-furious ships have also been abolished.
Connecting tensions, the Pakistan Army on Saturday launched a test of its Abdali surface-to-seven ballistic missiles. Indian authorities described the move as “clear provocation”. The Abdali missile has a 450 km range and was allegedly tested to validate technical parameters under “Exercise Indus”.
