During the interaction, Singh said India wants peace with all neighbours, including Pakistan, and will not fire the first bullet but asked the Rangers to ensure no infiltration takes place from their side.
In his response, Maj Gen Umar Farooq Burki, the head of Pakistan Rangers’ delegation, told Singh that he was the “mere DG of a force and not the leadership” like the Home Minister and could not give any commitment in this regard. He said he would convey Singh’s message to the Pakistani leadership.
Burki said his country also wanted peace along the border and cordial relations with India and that there could have been some incidents at the border where <g data-gr-id="99">firing</g> took place due to misunderstanding or by mistake.
Singh said that “Like India, Pakistan, too, is a victim of terrorism” and both countries must unite against the menace.
The Home Minister noted that India is home to all the 72 ‘firkas’ (sects) of Muslims, which no other country has.
“India has more Muslim population than Pakistan. India can be called as more Islamic than Pakistan,” he said.
Burki, who is here for talks with BSF DG D K Pathak, responded, “Your country is very big and vast. It is a great nation. We also want to have very good relations with India.” He also mentioned that both sides hope to defuse the situation along the Indo-Pak border in future amicably.
Singh said India wants friendly relations with all its neighbours and that was the reason why Prime Minister Narendra Modi had invited all heads of neighbouring countries when he took charge and even met his Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif at Ufa in Russia. “India will not fire the first bullet towards Pakistan along the border,” Singh told Pakistan Rangers.
The Home Minister further told the Pakistan Rangers it should ensure that no infiltration takes place from Pakistan to India. The Home Minister said the forces should stop firing at each other and illumination bomb should be used at best for whatever reasons.
Indo-Pak border talks: Mobile, email contact new CBMs
India and Pakistan on Friday decided to resolve sensitive issues like ceasefire violations and infiltration along the border by quickly getting in touch with each other over email and mobile, besides agreeing on some new CBMs during their bilateral DG-level talks. Both sides maintained that the dialogue, which started on Thursday, was held in a very cordial and smooth manner and all the issues concerning the two countries along the Indo-Pak border were taken up and addressed. The Pak Rangers and BSF decided to new Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) by <g data-gr-id="85">havingregular</g> exchange of sporting and cultural troupes.
“The two sides on Friday concluded their DG-level talks, which were extended by a day, and resolved that ensuring peace and <g data-gr-id="94">tranquility</g> on the Indo-Pak border is the utmost aim of both the countries. Some new modes of modern communication and CBMs have been finalised by the Rangers and BSF and they will be jointly endorsed by the chiefs tomorrow,” a top government source said. Sources in the Pakistan government also spoke about the initiation of these measures as they said the meeting was held in a “cordial and congenial atmosphere”.