’It was Chidambaram’s order’

MHA to route complaint through the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi

'It was Chidambaram's order'

MHA to route complaint through the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi

The Pakistan media has cried itself hoarse, calling the newly deployed women troops of the Border Security Force (BSF) 'prostitutes'. Finally, the Government of India has decided to respond.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MHA) is planning to register its resentment with the Pakistani government against the newspaper articles published in the neighbouring country.

"It's ridiculous. We never thought the media of any country could be so shameless. Deploying women on the border has been a long-pending decision and there are certain aspects of duties at the border which can be handled better by women troops. Moreover, we do not have a Talibanised society like Pakistan's. In India, women have very successful military careers," said a senior MHA official, wishing anonymity.

He confirmed that India has decided to lodge an official compliant against the 'wrongful news reports.' Officials of the MHA also said that the order to lodge a complaint has come directly from the office of Union Home Minister P Chidambaram.

'Objectionable news'

The news was first published by Daily Mail a Pakistani daily along with photographs of women soldiers in uniform.
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Claiming it to be an investigation by the paper, the article also said that Indian defence and security officials particularly consulted their Russian counterparts on ways to hire prostitutes and give them basic military training.

"Such news can tarnish the image of our forces. So far, it was a conscious decision by the government not to deploy women troops on the border. But we want total success of this experiment and we need to tell the Pakistanis to behave," said the official.

Sources informed the complaint will be routed through the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi. "We may issue the complaint through other channels in the future but now it's the matter of taking the issue up as early as possible," said another official from the MHA.

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First steps
BSF became the first border-guarding organisation in India to have recruited women on active border duties. The first batch of female troops was deployed a few weeks ago on the Indo-Pakistan border along Punjab. While the country celebrated the moment as a big step towards women empowerment, the Pakistani media decided to do a bizarre 'investigation' of its own.

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