With tensions simmering along the Indo-Pak borders after bodies of two soldiers were mutilated by Paksitani forces in the Poonch sector, the Border Security Force (BSF) is maintaining a high vigil along the Punjab border.
Surveillance is high at the Attari-Wagah joint check post where thousands of visitors gather every evening for the retreat ceremony. The security inside and around the integrated check post (ICP), where trade takes place between the two nations, has also been heightened. BSF sources have claimed that extra caution is maintained in the Bamiyal sector along Pathankot.
“Top vigil is being maintained to ensure that no attempt of infiltration or smuggling is made. After the Poonch incident, fresh guidelines have been issued to the troops,” said a BSF official.
Infamous for smuggling of drugs, things have changed after 60 Pakistani nationals were killed in a blast on the Pakistan side of the visitors’ gallery. After the incident, a few tourists are allowed near the zero point and CCTV cameras have been installed to keep a check on the movement. There is multi-tier checking of vehicles by the BSF soldiers that reach the border every evening for the ceremony.
Meanwhile, tension along the Jammu & Kashmir border has not impacted trade between the two countries in Punjab. Speaking to HT, an ICP official said, “Security is high but the trade between two countries is normal. Trucks are coming from Pakistan, carrying mainly gypsum, cement and few other products while India is exporting cotton to Pakistan.”
