A search operation was launched by the Indian Army along the Line of Control (LoC) after the movement of Pakistani drones was sighted in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir on Friday night (28th August). Reports quoting inputs from the Indian security forces stated that the security forces were put on high alert along the LoC after a Pakistani unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was detected along the border around 8:05 pm.
As per reports, troops of the 22nd Jammu and Kashmir Rifles (JAK RIF) detected the drone movement over the Behrooti village in the Mendhar sector of the Balakote area of Poonch, which falls within their Operational Area of Responsibility (AoR). Immediately after the detection, counter-drone systems were activated, which forced the Pakistani drones to retreat. The drones moved towards the Mangalnar-Dabrote side near the LoC before returning to Pakistan. Movements of Pakistani UAVs were also reportedly detected by the Indian security forces in the Rajouri district, which prompted a search operation in the area.
Similar Pakistani drone movements in various locations along the LoC have led to the Indian Army and the paramilitary forces launching a massive search operation covering the districts of Udhampur, Kathua and Rajouri. Aerial surveillance in the areas near the LoC has been intensified after the recent sightings of Pakistani drones.
Earlier this week, a Pakistani drone was sighted hovering over forward villages in the Bobiyan area of Hiranagar sector in the Kathua district, after which security forces launched a search operation in the region. Last month, a Pakistani drone was spotted in the Sunderbani sector of Rajouri, and a month before that, in June, a Pakistani UAV was sighted hovering over forward posts in the Balakote sector of Poonch.
Movements of Pakistani drones along the LoC, particularly in J&K, have significantly increased over the past few months. This comes along with the increased movement of Turkish and Chinese military transport flights to Pakistan. According to the Times of India, the frequency of Turkish C-130 Hercules and A400M aircraft flights into Pakistan reportedly surged between August 19 and 21. These flights landed at Pakistani air bases, including Nur Khan, Masroor and Murid air bases. The movement of Turkish flights into Pakistan has raised suspicion that these flights might be carrying military hardware, including unmanned aerial systems and air-defence equipment, into Pakistan.
Indian authorities busted an ISI-linked module
Over the past few months, Indian security forces have caught Pakistani drones smuggling weapons and narcotics in Indian territory. In July this year, a major anti-terror operation by the Delhi Police Cell led to the exposure of two Islamic terror modules linked to Pakistani gangster Shahzad Bhatti. One of the terror modules was smuggling weapons into India through Pakistani drones. The police arrested six jihadis, who were planning a terror attack in Delhi.
In June this year, a Pakistan-linked drone-based arms drop module was uncovered in Amritsar, Punjab, after a consignment of 26 weapons was caught by the Border Security Force (BSF) and Punjab Police. A local receiver named Rohan Khosla, who was going to collect the cache of weapons, was arrested by the authorities. A probe into the case by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) exposed an Australian link, as Khosla was acting on the direction of an Australia-based associate.
Last year in November, the Delhi Police’s Crime Branch busted an international arms smuggling racket linked to Pakistan’s intelligence agency, ISI. The gang was also smuggling high-end foreign firearms and ammunition, including the Turkish-made PX-5.7 Pistol and Chinese-made PX-3 Pistol, to India using drones from Pakistan.
