India’s Border Security Force and their counterparts, the Pakistan Rangers, posted along the international border, have decided to add four additional telephone lines for enhanced communication, up from the 12 now. “Earlier, telephone lines were functioning at the level of Deputy Inspector General on both sides. While 2015 saw 350 ceasefire violations in the Jammu sector, this year only three such violations have been reported in the Jammu sector, the only area where ceasefire violations take place. “Since the two forces have started talking, no incidents of sniping has been reported and even the number of ceasefire violations has dropped. The communication lines were also set up to secure the well-being of the border population, who are the worst affected by ceasefire violations and cross-border firing.

Source: The Hindu August 19, 2016 20:07 UTC