August 06, 2008	Wednesday	Sha’aban 3, 1429

JODHPUR, Aug 5: India on Tuesday stepped up security on its border, a top Indian paramilitary official claimed, alleging that Pakistan might be looking for an “opportunity” to push nearly 800 militants onto its soil.

“We have received information that nearly 800 militants are waiting to cross over to India at the borders,” Border Security Force (BSF) chief A.K. Mitra said in Indore, a city in Rajasthan state which borders Pakistan.

The Inter-Services-Intelligence, or ISI, is waiting for an “opportunity” to launch the cross-border intrusion, he claimed, adding that borders were being fortified to prevent any infiltration.

The 120,000-member BSF is India’s first line of defence along its frontier with Pakistan. “The wired fencing at border areas is being further strengthened” and other steps are being taken that have “effectively checked” the threat of infiltration, Mitra said.

Other paramilitary officials in Jodhpur, a city also located in Rajasthan, on Tuesday said the security force had intensified patrols along the borders with Pakistan and elsewhere in northern India.—AFP