'We always want peace on the border,' says BSF Director General DK Pathak.
Pakistani troops were not accepting protest notes from India over the ceasefire violations near the International Border in Jammu and Kashmir, resulting in "no communication" between the two sides, the Border Security Force or BSF said on Tuesday.
Director General of BSF, D K Pathak, asserted that India wants peace along the Indo-Pak border in Jammu and Kashmir but will retaliate strongly if fired upon.
"The last communication regarding flag meeting (to de-escalate the tension) that we had was on January 1, when their sector command, their nodal officer spoke to our nodal officer and we talked about four-five times. Thereafter there has been no communication," Mr Pathak told reporters today.
He also paid floral tributes at a wreath-laying ceremony of martyr Jawan Devinder Singh, who died in a cross-border shelling on Khawara post along the Samba sector yesterday.
"On January 3, when we went to deliver protest note through established mechanism, they refused to accept it. Thereafter, we had a protest note delivered through Wagah border (in Punjab sector). Now they are not even accepting protest note at Wagah too. Since January 4 onwards, there is no communication", he said.
"We always want peace on the border. That is the best situation to happen on the border. We on our side will never do anything to disturb peace on the border, but if anybody disturbs the peace, we will retaliate," he said.
"As I said the prevalence of peace is the best situation to happen. But if Pakistan does not want-- if Rangers do not want (peace to prevail on IB), what can we do," said Mr Pathak.
"It is not that the population of civilians from outside has only been dislodged, in fact the population on their side has also been dislodged, so it not a happy situation. We would like the restoration of normalcy as fast and as soon as possible", he said.
"But I still reiterate that we never initiate the fire. We will definitely respond, when we are fired at and when our civilians are fired at," he said.
On the situation along the border, Mr Pathak said "Since the night of December 31, intermittent firing has been going on from the Pakistan side. There was heavy firing on 31st night. Last night there was some firing, but after mid-night, there has been no firing."
Pakistani troops targeted over 60 hamlets and scores of border posts in heavy overnight shelling in Kathua and Samba districts in the state, with mortar bombs landing deep inside Indian territory.