PM ‘unaware’ of China training Pak troops across J&K border

The ministry of external affairs today sought to soothe ruffled sentiments over reports of Chinese troops training Pakistan army personnel just across the India-Pakistan border in Jammu & Kashmir.

Addressing a press conference in Brisbane after Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the first day of G20 summit, external affairs ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping this morning, but there was no discussion on the issue as it had not been raised by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.

Saying that the NSA is monitoring situation, Akbaruddin added that the reports may or may not be true.

The ministry's comment came a day after a news agency cited a report submitted by the Border Security Force intelligence wing to the NSA saying that the Chinese troops have been seen imparting weapon handling techniques to Pakistani infantrymen close to the troubled Rajouri sector of the international border between Indian and Pakistan.

The report, accessed by PTI, said these military manoeuvres were being conducted at forward defence locations of Pakistan which are usually manned by border guarding personnel the Pakistan Rangers.

Preliminary inputs analysed by BSF also showed some Pakistan Army units have taken over paramilitary posts of Rangers opposite Sriganganagar sector.

BSF also found that a handful of new observation towers have also been set up by Pakistan in recent past along Abohar and Gurdaspur sectors in Punjab.

The BSF intelligence reported that phone intercepts along the border indicate that Pakistan Army and Rangers are planning to deploy snipers and sharp shooters at strategic locations and posts to target Indian soldiers and assets.

The Border Security Force intelligence also reported that a special squad of Pakistani army commandos has been placed at select locations along the IB and LoC, and they may attempt to carry out raids and Border Action Team (BAT)-sponsored attacks on Indian territory.

It also said a large grouping of terrorists has been detected along Sialkot area in Pakistan, which may be planning to infiltrate into Jammu & Kashmir at a time when Assembly polls are scheduled in the state.

It also said agencies have detected a few launch pads for terrorists to infiltrate along either the International Border (IB) or the Line of Control (LoC).

The Indo-Pakistan border, which has been witnessing a series of ceasefire violations in the last few months, has been peaceful but tense in the last few days, the BSF report said. It added that that along the Indo-Pak border in the Sir Creek area near Gujarat about 25 Indian fishing boats and 155 fishermen had been apprehended by Pakistani maritime authorities in the current fishing season.

During the spate of recent ceasefire violations in October, the report said, retaliatory action by BSF killed at least 5 soldiers on the other side.