Pakistan army personnel are being increasingly deployed along the 190km international border in the Jammu border outposts that are usually manned by the Pakistan Rangers. It seems to be a sign of escalating tensions along the border.

The Border Security Force has seen this as a clear departure from the practice of specialized paramilitaries, instead of armies, guarding the borders in Jammu, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Bengal.  BSF and the government had confirmed that the Pakistani army has deployed soldiers and weaponry at the Rangers' posts.

"It's difficult to say if the Pakistani army has taken control of the Rangers' posts at IB but there is certainly a lot of movement, with many vehicles regularly bringing soldiers and arms. This has been going on for the past 8-9 days," said a senior official.

"General Sharif may be hoping to leverage the tension he has created on the border to determine the choice of his successor," said a senior government functionary in Delhi.

“Pakistani troops have violated the ceasefire along LoC in Jammu and Kashmir 99 times after the surgical strike by Indian Army troops on terror launch pads in PoK,” a senior Army officer said.

“In addition to that, 16 ceasefire violations have been recorded along the LoC in Kashmir region falling under 15 corps area,” he added.

By Premji