'We have no clue, jury still out' on why Pak broke ceasefire at IB: BSF DG

Hazaribag (Jharkhand), Nov 30 (PTI) The jury is still out as to why Pakistan recently broke the long agreed-upon ceasefire along the International Border with no "convincing" explanation offered by their officers during flag meetings, BSF chief Nitin Agrawal said on Thursday.

Agrawal was speaking to reporters during the annual press meet at the Border Security Force camp in the Meru area of Hazaribag in Jharkhand on the eve of the 59th Raising Day of the force.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah is expected to take the salute of the ceremonial parade here on Friday.

"We have no clue … we are analysing every aspect. During flag meetings, they (Pak Rangers) have been giving XYZ reasons for this (ceasefire violation) but they are not at all convincing.

"They (Pak Rangers) themselves felt that they are not sounding convincing. They just mentioned something for the sake of it," the BSF Director General (DG) said.

Pak Rangers in October initiated a cross-border shelling – the first major ceasefire violation since 2021 – in the Jammu sector that left a BSF jawan and a woman injured.

There have been at least six overall violations since the two sides signed a ceasefire agreement on February 25, 2021.

The BSF DG said the force mounted "effective" retaliatory fire during these ceasefire violations and "there were reports of heavy casualties there." "I can assure the country that the BSF will effectively guard the borders," he said.

The force, about 2.65 lakh in strength, was raised on December 1, 1965, and is primarily tasked to guard over 6,000 km-long Indian fronts with Pakistan and Bangladesh. PTI