From the border, BSF chief says no need to worry

There has been an increase in Pakistan Army activity across the border but there's no need to panic, the BSF Director General M L Kumawat told NDTV on Thursday.

According to sources, the Karachi based 5 Corp is conducting war games on the Gujarat-Rajasthan border.

There is no new troop deployment on the border or LoC and it's not known whether the exercises were scheduled earlier or are in response to the situation.

Heightened movement across the border

Extra deployment of rangers in Pakistan, but not unusual

Border villages not being evacuated

Ground reality

Currently Pakistan has about one lakh twenty thousand troops on its eastern border with India. The Karachi based 5 Corp is conducting war games on the Gujarat-Rajasthan border.

After the ceasefire with India in 2003, Pakistan was able to move troops to its western border with Afghanistan.

It currently has about one and a half lakh troops along its 2,400 km long border. Just to put it in perspective. The distance from Delhi to Chennai is less than that about 2000 km. As many as 15 Infantry Brigades - roughly 38,000 troops - were moved to Waziristan and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) last year. Pakistan Army is not experienced enough in CI operations and is also a reluctant fighter on its western border.

Peace pacts increase militancy

FATA -- Islamabad has historically held limited power over the semiautonomous tribal region made up of seven agencies of various Pashtun tribes. After the US attacked Afghanistan the Taliban and Al-Qaida moved to operate from this region.

There are about 80,000 troops here and they have suffered heavy casualties. Under President Pervez Musharraf several peace pacts were reached with tribal leaders. Analysts say that has been a virtual surrender of government power and increased militancy.


Militants threatened Peshawar
Pakistani military efforts to control extremism in the tribal areas has had an unintended consequence of causing the violence to seep into the bordering North West Frontier Province.

This area also harbours Al-Qaida and Taliban supporters and suicide attacks are on the rise. In June 2008, Pakistan's paramilitary forces led an offensive in the outskirts of Peshawar to push back militants threatening the provincial capital.

Attacks linked to insurgency

Pakistani military presence is also required in Baluchistan because of an internal insurgency. Pakistan often accuses India of being involved from Afghanistan in stoking the fire. The Baluch nationalist movement has reemerged in recent years with demands for a greater share of royalties for gas shipped to neighboring states. In 2006, a Pakistani strike killed Baluch nationalist leader Nawab Akbar Bugti setting off protests and failing to halt a simmering insurgency.

So, Pakistan military presence is twofold, Americans don't want any movement of Pakistani troops away from here because it will expose their forces in Afghanistan further.