Fortifying defence mechanisms along the International Border (IB), especially against infiltration the move to shift BSF battalions from LoC and deployed as the ‘second tier’ of defence, behind existing BSF positions, which witnessed incidents of terrorists crossing over the border to attack vital military, police and civilian establishments in Jammu and Punjab, along the IB can bring the expected dividends on security issue especially in the aftermath of militant attack on Pathankot Air Base. It is widely understood that the terrorists who attacked the air base early this year had infiltrated through the IB, possibly in Bamial area in Punjab. BSF has been deployed along LoC since 1965 under the command of the army while it works independently at IB running across Jammu, Punjab and Rajasthan as the ‘First Line of Defence’. Officials said a proposal is also being prepared to deploy Assam Rifles personnel at LoC posts which will be vacated by BSF as they will no longer be tasked with the security of the Indo-Myanmar border, a task expected to go to another border guarding force, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP). The proposal to de-induct at least four out of the dozen-odd battalions of Border Security Force (BSF) from LoC has already been sent to the Union Home Ministry and a note for taking a final decision in this regard by the Cabinet Committee on Security will be prepared soon after deliberations with the Ministry of Defence and army. The move, however, is being strongly opposed by senior BSF commanders as they feel that its removal from LoC where its men are deployed under the operational command of the army will take away vital exposure of the personnel from the ‘war time’-like duties on this frontier with Pakistan. The decision was taken as the force requires more men to secure IB and it could only be done by de-inducting units from other places as there is a dearth of reserve battalions in BSF and technological solutions being deployed to plug border gaps and breaches along IB will take some more time.
