India-Pakistan DG-level talks a success: Key takeaways from the meet

India and Pakistan have finally managed to jointly climb a steep mountain by successfully wrapping up the Director General level talks between Border Security Force (BSF) and Pakistan Rangers on Saturday. There are many key takeaways from this meeting, the most fundamental being the very fact that these talks were held at all given the high decibel mutual acrimony generated by recent cancelation of NSA-level talks. [caption id=“attachment_2429104” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  BSF Director General DK Pathak shakes hands with Pakistan Rangers Director General (Punjab), Major General Umar Farooq Burki. PTI[/caption] Against the backdrop of NSA talks fiasco, what the two border guarding forces have achieved is no mean accomplishment. They have agreed to respect the decade-old ceasefire mechanism along the borders and not indulge in knee jerk reactions if a ceasefire violation is made by either side. Instead of giving a prompt and equally bloody response to a ceasefire violation incident, as is the case currently, the two sides agreed that the side at the receiving end of a ceasefire violation would wait for one hour and get in touch with the aggressor rather than pummelling the aggressor with counter firing. Another huge takeaway of the DG-level talks is that the two sides agreed to initiate new Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) through regular exchange of sporting and cultural troupes and initiation of coordinated patrolling in specific border areas, apart from keeping in touch with each other through phone, email and fax. What is more, the sides put it on paper and came up with a joint record of discussions. This is what a BSF statement said after the talks a little while ago: “The Joint Record of Discussion charting a future route map for cooperation between the two border guarding forces was signed in the day. It was mutually agreed to hold the next talks in the first half of 2016 in Pakistan.” The document was signed by BSF DG DK Pathak and Rangers chief Maj Gen Umar Farooq Burki. One can hear a faint echo of India-China boundary negotiation in the India-Pakistan DG-level talks as both sides agreed to constant endeavour to maintain peaceful and tranquil borders. It sounds good as the biggest achievement of India-China boundary talks is that the two Asian giant neighbours have successfully kept their borders tranquil since decades. Besides the issue of ceasefire violations, the DGs of BSF and Pakistan Rangers also discussed incidents of firing at the borders, smuggling of narcotics, infiltration attempts and defence construction activities, apart from the issue of people unwittingly crossing over the border and a mechanism to facilitate their return. This is a good beginning and the two nuclear armed South Asian neighbours can now look forward to their next bilateral engaged which the Indian and Pakistani prime ministers had agreed to during their 10 July Ufa summit: Talks between the two DGMOs or directors general of military operation. India and Pakistan need to be complimented for crossing the camel’s hump after the NSA talks fiasco. This paves the way for equally constructive talks between the two DGMOs later this month. It also keeps the international community happy especially at this time when the two prime ministers will be travelling to New York later this month for the United Nations General Assembly session. While it is true that India and Pakistan have finally returned to the negotiating table instead of indulging in mindless firing and bloodshed on the borders, the proof of the pudding will have to be in the eating. One will have to wait and see if the guns on both sides of the border fall silent.