India-pak Border

India slams Pak at UN, warns of consequences for cross-border terrorism

In a strong retort, India has slammed Pakistan in the UN General Assembly, saying its fingerprints" are on terrorist incidents across the world and the country should realise that cross-border terrorism against India will inevitably invite consequences. India exercised its Right of Reply in the UN General Assembly on Friday in response to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif raising the issue of Jammu and Kashmir in his address at the General Debate of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly. This Assembly regrettably witnessed a travesty this morning. A country run by the military, with a global reputation for terrorism, narcotics trade and transnational crime has had the audacity to attack the world's largest democracy, First Secretary in India's Permanent Mission to the UN Bhavika Mangalanandan said, delivering India's Right of Reply. She asserted that as the world knows, Pakistan has long employed cross-border terrorism as a weapon against its neighbours. It has attacked

Legacy challenges of unsettled borders continue to engage us: Army chief

Chief of Army Staff Gen Manoj Pande on Saturday said that India's legacy challenges of unsettled borders will continue to engage the nation and stressed that the ability to correctly assess future threats remains pivotal to the country's strategic planning and preparedness. The top general was delivering a keynote address at the Indian Institute of Management Nagpur, said a release shared by the defence PRO. Increasing weaponisation of space poses significant challenges to the security of space assets, he said. Highlighting the challenges arising out of the cyber domain, he cited the CERT-In (Indian Computer Emergency Response Team) annual report of 2022 and said that there were nearly 14 lakh cases of website intrusion, malware propagation, malicious code, phishing, distributed denial of service attacks, ransomware attacks and data breach attempts in one year. Technological advances in the electromagnetic spectrum could impact military operations, intelligence gathering and civili

Firing by Pak Rangers along IB continued for around 7 hrs, 2 injured: BSF

The BSF on Friday said the unprovoked firing by Pakistan Rangers along the International Border in Jammu targeting Indian posts and civilian areas continued for close to seven hours. In an official statement, the Border Security Force (BSF) said the Pakistan Rangers fired mortars and used heavy machine guns, leading to two non-fatal casualties. BSF Constable Basva Raj suffered minor splinter injuries in both hands due to shelling. A local, Rajni Devi of Arnia, suffered minor injuries, it said. The force said the Pakistani firing continued for close to seven hours, starting around 8 pm on Thursday and extending up to 2:45 am on Friday. "BSF continues to monitor the developments closely while assessing the situation and remains alert to respond as necessary to ensure the safety and security of the border and its residents," the force said. It said following the start of unprovoked firing, BSF troops retaliated and subsequently Pak Rangers extended their firing to target its border p

TN man held near Indo-Pak border in Gujarat; map, tools found in his bag

Police have detained a man hailing from Tamil Nadu after he was found roaming suspiciously near the India-Pakistan border in Gujarat's Kutch district, an official said on Wednesday. A hand-drawn map of the border area, a passport, some tools and an international ATM card were found in his bag, besides other items, after the man was apprehended on Tuesday evening, the official said, adding he was being questioned by local police and central agencies. The man has been identified as Dinesh Laxmanan Thevar, a resident of Theni district in Tamil Nadu. An investigation has been launched to find out his motive behind moving in the area, the Kutch-East police said in a statement. He was detained by the state police's intelligence wing on a road connecting the Border Security Force's (BSF) Kuda outpost and Lodrani village of Rapar taluka on Tuesday evening, the statement said. "A man from Tamil Nadu has been detained for questioning as he was found roaming near the international border ...

Smugglers using drones to send drugs across border into India: Pak official

Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan, the Special Assistant on Defence to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif made these remarks to Hamid Mir, a journalist associated with Pakistan's Geo News

Drone carrying heroin consignment shot down near India-Pak border in Punjab

A drone that was being used to smuggle drugs into the country was shot down near the India-Pakistan international border in Amritsar on Sunday in a joint operation by Border Security Force (BSF) and Punjab Police. Five drones have been recovered in Tarn Taran and Amritsar areas since November 29. The hexacopter was carrying five kg of heroin and was shot down in Kakkar village, Punjab Police said. The police have rounded-up two persons from the spot when they were trying to escape, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Amritsar Rural Swapan Sharma said. Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said the hybrid drone, estimated to be worth Rs 10 lakh, was assembled with parts manufactured in the US and China and was equipped with hi-tech features including a long-lasting battery backup and infrared-based night vision camera and GPS. Yadav said after noticing the drone movement, police teams from Amritsar Rural district immediately shared the pin-pointed inputs with the BSF and jointl

India revamps defence infra with fortification of BSF bunkers at J&K border

Indian security agencies have carried out a major defence infrastructure revamp including creation of ramps for army tanks and strengthening of BSF bunkers along the International Border with Pakistan, since the two sides announced a military ceasefire in 2021, officials said. The first phase of the infrastructure renovation and creation of some new ones has been recently completed on a stretch of 26 kilometres along the front in Jammu while another 33 kilometres in the same region is being carried out, official sources told PTI. Jammu shares a 192 km-long front of the total 2,289 kilometres of the India -Pakistan IB before it runs down towards Gujarat and Rajasthan on the country's western flank. The Line of Control (LoC) between the two neighbours falls majorly in Kashmir and it is about 772 kilometres long. The defence infrastructure work that has been undertaken includes creation and revamp of multiple DCBs (ditch-cum-bandhs), maintenance of damaged border fence, creation of ra

BSF boosts vigil along Punjab border amid repeated Pak drone incursions

The Border Security Force has stepped up vigil near the India-Pakistan border in Punjab amid increasing attempts by smugglers to push narcotics and weapons through drones under the cover of dense fog, an official said. Drone movements from across the border to push weapons and heroin into Indian territory have gone up considerably in the past few days in the wake of dense fog enveloping the region. "We have increased patrolling and 'nakas' (checkpoints) and BSF (Border Security Force) personnel are alert to thwart any bid by smugglers," said a senior agency official. A Punjab Police official said the movement of over 200 Pakistani drones had been recorded near the international border this year. The officials said smugglers had increased their activities along the international border as the area was blanketed by dense fog. With the fog reducing visibility to almost zero, BSF troops are relying on the buzzing noise to intercept unmanned aerial vehicles entering from Pakistan. In

BSF recovers drone, 2.5 kg heroin near India-Pakistan border in Punjab

Border Security Force troops have recovered a drone and over two kilograms of heroin from a village near the India-Pakistan border in Punjab's Tarn Taran district, the fourth such recovery in as many days, officials said on Tuesday. At 8:56 pm on Monday, the troop heard the sound of a drone from the Pakistan side when it was hovering over Kalia village. The personnel fired in that direction, and during the search, they recovered 2.47 kg heroin wrapped in a yellow polythene, the officials said. "A metal ring meant for the release of the consignment from the drone was also found attached with it," an official said. The personnel carried out another round of search operation on Tuesday morning during which they found the broken drone lying the field. The BSF troops once again foiled a smuggling attempt, the official said. There has been a spurt in the movement of Pakistani drones near the international border in the last few days. On Monday, the BSF foiled a cross-border drug-smugg

BSF shoots down drone along India-Pakistan border in Amritsar village

The Border Security Force has shot down a drone that sneaked into the Indian side from Pakistan in Punjab's Amritsar district, officials said on Tuesday. The BSF personnel fired at the drone on Monday night after they noticed it entering the Indian territory near Chaharpur village, around 40 km north of Amritsar city, they said. During the search operation, the BSF recovered a partially-damaged hexacopter, an unmanned aerial vehicle with six rotors. A suspected item in a white-colour polythene was also attached underneath it, according to the officials. The drone is suspected to be carrying a drugs payload and its contents are being ascertained, an officer said. "Alert troops of BSF once again were able to capture a drone and foil smuggling attempt," a spokesperson for the force said. On November 25, the BSF troops had also shot down a Pakistani drone near the international border in Amritsar.

BJP slams AAP in Punjab over illegal mining along border, demands CBI probe

BJP's Tarun Chugh lambasted the AAP government in Punjab and alleged that the state government is putting national security at stake by allowing illegal mining on the India-Pakistan border

Pakistani intruder arrested along International Border in Jammu: BSF

A Pakistani intruder was arrested along the International Border here by the Border Security Force (BSF) in the early hours of Saturday, officials said. BSF personnel picked up on the movement of Mohd Shabad (45), a resident of Sialkot, while he was trying to sneak into the Arnia sector from across the border, they said. They fired a few warning shots and took the man into custody, the officials said, adding that no incriminating material was found in his possession. On August 25, the BSF foiled a major smuggling attempt when its troops seized eight kg of suspected heroin from a Pakistani intruder along the IB in Samba district. The intruder was shot at and injured, but he managed to crawl back to the Pakistani side.

BSF recovers cache of assault weapons along Indo-Pak border in Punjab

The Border Security Force (BSF) has recovered a cache of assault weapons, suspected to have been smuggled from across the border, during a patrol along the India-Pakistan border in Punjab on Tuesday. Three AK series rifles along with six magazines, 2 M3 sub-machine guns with four magazines and two pistols along with two magazines were unearthed by the personnel of the border force from the Ferozepur sector in the early hours, officials said. The weapons are suspected to have been smuggled in from Pakistan, they said.

India carefully monitors developments along its border areas: MEA

India on Thursday said it carefully monitors developments along its border areas including the construction of infrastructure by the Chinese side in the eastern Ladakh sector.

3 magnetic IEDs with timer set recovered near Pak border area of Jammu

The police have recovered three magnetic IEDs dropped by a drone in the border area of Jammu in a fresh attempt to smuggle explosives through the aerial route in the Jammu district, officials said

BSF resort to firing along India-Pak border in Jammu on drone suspicion

BSF troops resorted to firing briefly along the India-Pakistan border in the Jammu district after hearing a humming sound which led to suspicion that a drone was flying around

BSF shoots down Pakistan drone carrying contraband in Punjab's Ferozpur

The Border Security Force (BSF) on Monday said that its alert troops shot down a drone which came from the Pakistan side in Punjab's Ferozepur sector

The margins of a nation

Book review of Midnight's Borders: A People's History of Modern India

Pigeon spies and the flutter caused by these unusual undercover agents

A Pakistani villager, who lives 4 km from the border, claimed to be its owner and made an impassioned appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to return the pigeon.

Coronavirus can't lock down smuggling at borders with Pakistan, Bangladesh

Along the Punjab border, notorious for cross-border heroin smuggling from Pakistan, drug seizures came down from 97 kgs to about 18 kgs between the two comparable periods