Amritsar, Feb 24 (NVI) To fortify the anti-infiltration grid and prevent incursion by drones, India’s Border Security Force (BSF) will boost the manpower at the Pakistan border in Punjab and Jammu and set up tactical headquarters along the frontline.
At least 9 tactical or ‘tac headquarters’ are proposed to be set up in the forward areas closer to the border, near the border post, sources said.
The ‘tac headquarter’ will have the presence of a senior commander, including the commanding officer (CO) of the battalion deployed at these border posts, the sources said.
The BSF is responsible for guarding the 2,289 km-long India-Pakistan International Border (IB), starting from Jammu and Kashmir in the north to Gujarat, covering Punjab and Rajasthan too along the western side of the country.
The Punjab Frontier of the force guards 553 km of this boundary while the Jammu frontier is responsible for guarding 191.66 km of the IB part from 40.07 km of the Line of Control (LoC).
The BSF will also mobilise “maximum” manpower to the border all across these two regions after shifting them from the battalion headquarters, the sources said.
These steps are being taken in view of the “vulnerability and the constant threat” to these border areas from the point of view of cross-border infiltration and drone flights emanating from Pakistan, the sources said.
The Punjab border has been breached repeatedly by Pakistani drones, 294 of which were recovered by the BSF along with 283 kgs of heroin last year.
In 2023, the number of drones seized by the BSF on the frontier was 107.
The force also killed 4 Pakistani intruders and captured 161 Indian smugglers along with 30 Pakistani nationals from the Punjab border last year. (NVI)
