Pak Rangers, BSF begin border talks

New Delhi: Top brass of the Pakistan Rangers and Border Security Force (BSF) today began their four-day talks here to sort out a host of border-related issues including instances of ceasefire violation along the Indo-Pak frontier. An 18-member Pakistani delegation comprising officials of the border force and the Interior Ministry, led by Pakistan Rangers Director General (Sindh) Maj Gen Rizwan Akhtar, was accorded a ceremonial guard of honour by a BSF contingent at the headquarters of the Indian border guards here. [caption id=“attachment_364185” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Reuters”]  [/caption] Akhtar later had a meeting with BSF Director General UK Bansal after which the talks began, officials said. The Pakistani team had arrived here yesterday after entering India through the Wagah border. It includes the second Rangers DG (Punjab) Maj Gen Mian Muhammad Hilal Hussain, Additional Secretary in the Pakistan Interior Ministry Najibullah Khan and other officials. The two border guarding forces are meeting in Delhi for the first time and the talks are aimed at thrashing out a host of issues including recent incidents of firing and ceasefire violations by Pakistan along the Indo-Pak border. The officials said BSF is expected to flag a number of issues to the visiting team which include unprovoked firing by Pakistan troops in Jammu and Sialkot sectors, death of two BSF personnel in the last few months because of sniper firing and a spurt in the smuggling of narcotic drugs from across the border. PTI