NEW DELHI, India: Keeping aside the imposition of emergency as the last option, the Centre is embarking on a multipronged strategy, including making the border with Pakistan less porous than: it is now, to combat violence in Punjab.
The Centre has taken note of the fact that the influx of sophisticated arms like rockets into the State has risen in the past few weeks. Consequently, urgent attention is being given to the problem of sealing the border wherever possible.
To begin with, the 500km long Punjab Pakistan border will be taken up for sealing, and subsequently, depending upon the pace ‘of work, the border across Rajas than and Gujarat will also be attended to.
Additionally, the communication network along the border will be improved by setting up police posts at regular intervals and the personnel manning them will be provided with modern communication gadgets to enable patrolling constables to keep in touch with one another
The new strategy. The formulation of which became necessary in the wake of an upsurge in killings in the past couple of weeks, was finalized at a session attended by the Prime Minister, Punjab Governor S’.S Ray, Union Home Minister Buta Singh, Minister of state” for P. Chidambaram, intelligence chiefs and senior Home Ministry officials last night. The session lasted several hours and ended in the early hours of today. The Prime Minister cut short some of his programed in Tripura and Manipur to return to Delhi earlier so that he could discuss the Punjab situation with Mr. Ray who had been earlier summoned to the Capital.
Article extracted from this publication >> April 15, 1988
