Pak troops still ‘deployed’ in Shakargarh bulge

Ajay Banerjee
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, March 23

The armed forces of India and Pakistan are at a razor’s edge for more than a month now. Notwithstanding global appeals for peace between the two nuclear-armed neighbours, a large chunk of the Indian Army is in a ‘deployed’ state along the western front.  

On the Pakistani side, its entire force, other than elements in operations along the Pakistan-Afghan frontier, is in a state of ‘readiness.

Sources said, “There is no let-up in deployment on either side”. For now, there are no instructions to scale down, a functionary said. 

The elements of ‘Strike Corps’, headquartered at Ambala and Mathura, are already deployed at key locations in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan and need not be deployed further forward. 

For now, historical ingress routes of the India-Pak Wars of 1965 and 1971 are under constant monitoring of UAVs from both sides.

There have been reports of increased Pakistan activity in the ‘Shakargarh bulge’ --- Indian Punjab is south of this while Jammu is north of it. Another segment where Pakistan is focusing is the Indian areas of Bikaner, Sri Ganganagar, Hindumal Kot amd Abohar.

The air forces of both countries have been doing their combat patrols, meaning ready to strike or counter a strike within a few seconds. The Indian Navy’s BrahMos missile carrying warships are still stationed in the north Arabian Sea.

Such is the deployment that the much-awaited ‘test’ for integration of battle groups of the Indian Army has been put on hold for now. A top source said, “For now, the ‘test-bed’ is not being conducted as units are in state of readiness following the recent tension between India and Pakistan.

The IBG will be doing ‘integration’ in peacetime. This, if done, could be the first tweak to the ‘cold start doctrine’ (first made public in 2004).”

Resolve disputes through talks: Envoy

New Delhi: Pakistan and India should resolve all outstanding issues and disputes peacefully through dialogue, Pakistani envoy to India Sohail Mahmood said on Saturday. Mahmood, speaking at a function at the Pakistan High Commission here to mark Pakistan Day, underlined his country's desire for peaceful and good-neighbourly relations with India. He said it was important for Pakistan and India to resolve all outstanding issues and disputes peacefully. PTI