Amarjeet Singh has become the first Sikh to be inducted as an officer in the paramilitary Pakistan Rangers, following closely on the heels of other members of minority communities who have joined the army and foreign service.
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 in New Delhi.
Hours after an incident of ceasefire violation, Border Security Force and Pakistan Rangers Tuesday held a flag meeting along the international border in Jammu and agreed to respect the "existing norms", an official said.
The Border Security Force on Friday said it has killed seven terrorists who were trying to infiltrate from across the India-Pakistan International Border in Jammu, and also destroyed a Rangers post.
The attack came less than three months after a suicide bomber killed 12 people in a blast outside a district and sessions court building in Islamabad.
Pakistan on Wednesday handed over Border Security Force (BSF) jawan Purnam Kumar Shaw, apprehended on April 23, to India via the Attari-Wagah border front in Punjab, the force said.
The father of a BSF jawan detained by Pakistan Rangers after inadvertently crossing the international border in Punjab has said that the family is anxiously waiting for his return. The jawan, P K Sahu, was taken into custody on Wednesday after he reportedly walked ahead to rest under a tree and inadvertently crossed over into Pakistan territory. The commanding officer of the jawan's battalion has said a flag meeting is being held to secure his release.
Naqvi assured Siriwiratnay that the visiting team players and officials were state guests in Pakistan.
Sri Lankan players currently touring Pakistan for a three-match ODI series want to return home due to security concerns following a deadly suicide attack in Islamabad but PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi claimed that the rubber will continue, albeit with a rejigged schedule.
A Pakistani Ranger has been apprehended by the Border Security Force (BSF) from along the India-Pakistan border in Rajasthan. This comes nearly a fortnight after a BSF jawan was apprehended by the Rangers amid rising tension between the two countries.
Purnam Kumar Shaw, a BSF jawan who was held captive in Pakistan for nearly three weeks, returned to his home in West Bengal's Hooghly district on Friday evening. Shaw was greeted by his family and well-wishers at Howrah station and was escorted to his hometown Rishra, where he was welcomed by people and a band playing patriotic tunes. Shaw had been taken into custody by Pakistan Rangers on April 23, after he inadvertently crossed the international border in Punjab's Ferozepur district.
Pakistan military chief directly intervened to salvage the home series involving Sri Lanka following the suicide attack in Islamabad, the country's interior ministry said on Thursday.
The Pakistan Rangers opened fire around 8.15 am on Tuesday on the troops at the Vikram post in the Arnia sector, following which the BSF jawans fired in retaliation, the BSF said in a statement.
The cross-border shelling by Pakistan Rangers, the first major ceasefire violation since 2021, started around 8 pm Thursday in the Arnia area of R S Pura sector and lasted around seven hours, leaving a BSF jawan and a woman injured.
A Border Security Force (BSF) jawan was detained by Pakistan Rangers after accidentally crossing the Punjab border. Constable PK Sahu of the 182nd battalion was apprehended by the Rangers across the Ferozepur border. Sahu, a resident of West Bengal, was in uniform and carried his service rifle. A flag meeting is underway between the two forces to secure his release.
"Similarly, 60 launchpads are working in the other depth areas away from the border," BSF DIG Vikram Kunwar told reporters in Jammu.
Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan said on Friday that the ceasefire with India was holding and the country is committed to it. He also said that Pakistan is committed to making the ceasefire hold and de-escalation succeed, and then engagement to lead to stability and resolution of issues. Khan said that the two militaries have a channel of communication through the Directors General of Military Operations, through which they are working for de-escalation, in terms of the movement of troops. He added that Pakistan remains committed to the ceasefire announced on May 10 and lately, both sides have taken steps for de-escalation and return of stability.
The Border Security Force (BSF) has lodged a protest with Pakistan Rangers after a BSF jawan was apprehended by the Rangers last week after he mistakenly crossed the international border in Punjab. The incident comes amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack.
This came after Pakistan initiated "unprovoked" firing on BSF posts in Jammu sector from 9 pm on Friday.
The intruder, who is in his early 20s, was taken into custody by Army troops soon after he entered into this side from across the LoC.
The Border Security Force (BSF) launched "Operation Sindoor" in retaliation to unprovoked firing and shelling by Pakistani Rangers along the International Border (IB) in Jammu. BSF troops destroyed three terrorist launch pads and targeted 76 Pakistani border outposts and 42 forward defence locations. The BSF action came after Pakistan launched heavy firing and shelling on 60 Indian posts and 49 forward positions, reportedly providing cover for an attempted infiltration by 40-50 terrorists.
In yet another ceasefire violation, Pakistani Rangers on Thursday night resorted to small arms firing on border out-posts along the international border in Jammu, prompting BSF to retaliate.
The Border Security Force (BSF) destroyed five Pakistani posts and a terrorist launch pad across the Jammu border in an operation, an officer said. The BSF retaliated after Pakistan targeted civilian areas and Indian establishments in a systematic manner, the officer said.
Two BSF personnel and a woman were injured on Thursday, October 26, 2023 night when Pakistani Rangers started firing at the International Border in the Arnia and RS Pura sectors of Jammu district.
The incident took place on the intervening night of April 8-9 near Dorangla village in Gurdaspur district. The Border Security Force (BSF) has issued an "alert" all along the 553 km of this front in Punjab and suspension of farming around the blast area.
The family members of Border Security Force constable Purnam Kumar Shaw, who was released by Pakistan from its custody on Wednesday, expressed immense relief and gratitude to the central government and BSF authorities for securing his return.
It was further decided that the next Sector Commander level meeting will be held on June 21 2018.
Olympic medallist Saina also attended the Beating Retreat ceremony, a daily flag-lowering ceremony jointly conducted by the BSF and the Pakistan Rangers at the Wagah border, the border outpost located between Amritsar and Lahore.
The Border Security Force (BSF) has scaled down the retreat ceremony held at Attari, Hussainiwala and Sadki along the India-Pakistan border in Punjab following the Pahalgam terrorist attack. The BSF's Punjab frontier said it was suspending the symbolic handshake of the Indian guard commander with the counterpart and the border gates will remain closed during the ceremony. The move is seen as a response to the recent terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir, in which 26 people were killed.
'I believe Modiji hai toh mumkin hai.'
The Army further made it clear that the continuation of a break in hostilities, as decided in the DGMOs interaction of May 12, has no expiry date to it.
Raj Kumar Thapa, additional district development commissioner, Rajouri, and his two staff members were seriously injured when an artillery shell hit his official residence in Rajouri town, the officials said.
The Director Generals of Military Operations (DGMOs) of India and Pakistan on Monday deliberated on various aspects of the May 10 understanding reached between the two sides on cessation of hostilities.
The United States on Thursday said it supports India's right to defend itself and its fight against terrorism as US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth dialled Defence Minister Rajnath Singh amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan over the Pahalgam terror attack.
India can be called "more Islamic than Pakistan" as more Muslims live here than that country, Home Minister Rajnath Singh told the chief of Pakistan Rangers who called on him to discuss ways to keep the border peaceful.
In the India-Pakistan situations, off-ramps have come either through foreign mediation (after months of kinetic warfare over Kargil, and a long stand-off with Op Parakram) or when a situation made it possible for both sides to claim a win, explains Shekhar Gupta.
Meanwhile, a precautionary blackout has been enforfced in the multiple areas amid the esclating tensions between India and Pakistan.
Colonel Sofiya Qureshi revealed that 300 to 400 drones were deployed across 36 locations, with several being shot down by Indian forces using both kinetic and non-kinetic methods.
The sector commanders of the BSF and Pakistan Rangers held a flag meeting, after a gap of about seven months
The casualties were reported hours before India and Pakistan agreed to end hostilities, which soared after the Indian Armed Forces hit terror launchpads in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir earlier this week in response to the Pahalgam attack.