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| Pak emergency has its impact on Attari border | | Pak rangers in low morale, BSF on high alert | | Early Times Special Correspondent
Jammu | Nov 5
The proclamation of emergency in Pakistan on the evening of Saturday, November 3 had its impact on Pak side of Indo-Pak border at Attari, where joint parade is held by the Indian BSF and Pak rangers, to mark the beating of retreat from 5 pm to 5:25 pm daily, these days. This correspondent, who was witness to the parades held on Saturday as well as on Sunday noticed a remarkable difference in the enthusiasm and spirit among the Pak rangers between Saturday and Sunday.
On Saturday, before the emergency was clamped in Pakistan, the enthusiasm among the Pakistani public who in a very large number, estimated to be about ten thousand having come to witness the ceremony as well as among the Pak rangers, participating in the parade was quite matching the one witnessed among twenty thousand spectators who had visited to watch the parade on the Indian side and the BSF cops performing the ceremony. Since the emergency in Pakistan was clamped at 6-10 pm, neither the visitors from that side on the border nor the Pak ranger had any inkling of the same. The slogan shouting by the Pakistanis was full of enthusiasm and patriotic spirit, as was the case on the Indian side, shouting slogans of "Hindustan zindabad, Bharat Mata ki jai and Vande Matram", the only three slogans that are allowed to be shouted. Similarly the Pak rangers were full of zeal and agility, quite matching the enthusiasm and zeal displayed by BSF jawans holding the parade.
However, within a day the entire scenario and atmosphere on the Pak side of the border had undergone a qualitative change. While hardly any visitors were seen on the Pak side, on the Indian side the rush of visitors was little more than what it was a day earlier, when an estimated number of twenty-five thousand people would have been present and seated on the galleries, raising patriotic slogans and greeting the tall, agile jawans, attired in smart and elegant uniform, with turbans on their heads. The day earlier's spirit and vigour among the Pak rangers was comparably quite low. Some sort of uncertainty and anxiety writ large on their faces was discernible in their movement, chemistry and gestures.
This visible low profile and slackness in the enthusiasm of the Pak rangers is in keeping with low morale reported among the Pak army in general, in the backdrop of growing feeling among the army and paramilitary forces in Pakistan that they are fighting a war against their own people, on the bidding of foreign powers, notably USA and other European countries. The capture of fifty paramilitary troops in the swat valley by Taliban fighters in the North Western Frontiers Province (NWFP) and the private Pak TV channels airing the claims of the Taliban and the other Islamic militants having captured another a hundred security personnel mostly police and paramilitary soldiers, has its demoralizing effect on the Pak army and the paramilitary forces, including the Pak rangers manning the Indo-Pak border on their side.
Besides over one thousand Pakistani security forces personnel having been killed fighting extremist in NWFP and Wazirsthan, many more are targets of bombing—in an officers mess outside a cantonment and at an air force station, whereas some others like the paramilitary troops have chosen the easy way by getting captured willingly by the Taliban and thus earn peace with them by finally deserting to the side of Islamic jehadis.
While this is the scenario on the Pak side of the border, the BSF authorities on our side have the anxiety to cope with in a new likely problem to deal with the militants crossing over to Indian side both on the LoC and the international border, in the wake of there being hot pressed and chased by the security forces in Pakistan, who shall have now to fight an all out war on the Islamic militants within their country. Justification of clamping of emergency in his country by General Parvez Musharraf, as Chief of the army staff, on the ground of stepped up attacks by the Islamic jehadis on the Pakistani forces, has brought the Pak security forces to take head on the Islamist fighters on any front and the latter retaliating, with no hold barred war. Under this scenario the Islamic terrorists, mainly the Kashmiri militants putting up in Pakistan and PoK, faced with a position of running for their life, may try to sleek into Indian side of LoC in J&K as well as international border in J&K and other parts of the country. This will necessitate the BSF to be always on their toe and remain extra vigilant to foil infiltrations. |
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