International Border in Jammu frontier incident free, safe; drone activity down: BSF IG

Jammu: The Border Security Force (BSF) has foiled all cross-border infiltration attempts this year and the International Border in the Jammu frontier is incident-free and safe, a senior official said.
Drone activity has also largely decreased in Jammu and the majority of weapons and explosives dropped from unmanned aerial vehicles have also been recovered, BSF Inspector General (Jammu Frontier) DK Boora said at a press conference here.
“The (International) border is incident-free despite huge pressure on the forces and attempts from across the border to carry out infiltrations,” he said.
“All infiltration attempts have been foiled. Seven infiltration bids were foiled and all the guides and infiltrators eliminated,” he said, adding that none of the infiltration attempts this year had been successful.
Boora added that four AK assault rifles, seven pistols and nearly 50 kg heroin had been seized.
“The border in Jammu is totally safe. We have been able to ensure safety and security throughout the year. We hope that there will be no infiltrations from across the border in 2023,” he said.
Boora said he hoped that such a situation would prevail on the borders in the days to come.
“We promise that there will be no compromise with the security of the borderline. We will work to ensure zero infiltration,” he added.
Referring to the pressure on troops along the International Border during the winter months as the focus of infiltration shifts from the Line of Control (LoC), he said there was always pressure on them.
“Our motto is zero infiltration. Whether it is winter, summer, fog or rain, our focus is not to allow anyone to cross the International Border,” he said.
Admitting that drone activity was a problem, Boora said, “As the problem intensified, the measures to contain it were upgraded,” he said.
Boora added that the deployment of the new measures and equipment had largely decreased drone activity in Jammu.
Comparing the drone activity with that in the Punjab sector, he said that unlike before, the BSF was shooting down unmanned aerial vehicles every two to three days.
“The troops are alert to the drone threat. In the future, we are confident of fully containing it. In Jammu, it has been contained with the joint effort and coordination of security forces and police,” he said.
He said security forces and police had recovered most of the weapons and explosives dropped from drones in various places of the Jammu region and the Kashmir Valley.
Boora said Jammu had won the award for best border management among all 11 frontiers while the 48th battalion bagged the DG’s Trophy for best operational work during the year.
The border is made of three components — border, bordermen and border population. He said, “It is very important that all the three components have coordination to ensure security, safety and peaceful borders.”
He said there was full coordination between the BSF and the border population, adding that the force was reaching out to people living in the area and providing them all help.
Boora added that farmers, who stopped agriculture along the International Border due to firing, had started farming with the BSF’s support.
When asked about the smuggling of Turkey- and China-made weapons into the country, Boora said, “It is immaterial for us from where Pakistan and terror outfits get them. Our aim is to seize them and not allow anyone to use them.”
Replying to a question on Pakistan’s alleged involvement in terror activities along the International Border, he said, “It is not possible that such activities (infiltration, drone flights) are done without the involvement of their (Pakistan) security agencies. They fully support them (terrorists) and are part of these operations.”
“We keep protesting with our Pakistan counterparts for these activities,” he added.
When asked about the terrorists who entered through the tunnel via Samba and engineered the attack on Sunjwan, he said, “The tunnel was detected and the terrorists who came through killed. It shows the coordination of the security forces.”
Calling narco-terrorism an effort to finance terror operations, Boora said, “We did not allow it to be successful on the Jammu border.”
Asked about the alleged involvement of a BSF officer in the recruitment scam being investigated by the CBI, he said the officer was being probed.
“The BSF has nothing to do with. He has done it in his personal and individual capacity,” Boora said.