JAMMU, Oct 27: Amid high tension triggered by heavy firing and shelling along the border, Pakistani and Indian troops are likely to hold a flag meeting on Monday (today).

“The flag meeting is likely to be held tomorrow (with Pakistan Rangers) to defuse the tension and end ceasefire violations along international border,” a senior officer of the Border Security Force (BSF) said.

“We are making all efforts to hold the flag meeting to defuse the tension and response from other side has already been received,” he said.

Nearly 200-km-long International Border (IB) in Jammu, Samba and Kathua districts in Jammu has witnessed heavy shelling of mortars and rockets and firing from automatic weapons since October 14 on a daily basis.

The BSF troops earlier tried to hold flag meeting on October 18 and 20 on the IB at two forward posts in Samba district, but Pakistan Rangers did not turn up for the meeting.

Monday’s meeting is likely to take place either at the commandant level or DIG level at a post in the R.S. Pura sector in Jammu district.

While a ceasefire along the border has largely held for the past decade, sporadic violations are not uncommon. Since January this year the two neighbours have regularly accused each other of initiating the fighting by firing mortar shells or gunshots across the frontier.

By arrangement with the Times of India