Punjab: Hi-tech drones raise security concerns in border areas

Punjab: The ever-increasing sophistication acquired by drones coming from across the International Border (IB) has become a matter of concern for security agencies. The seizures made by the BSF and officers of Gurdaspur and Batala police districts in recent months clearly prove that Pakistan’s state and non-state actors are sending state-of-the-art China-made DJI Mavic-3 Classic drones loaded with payloads of high-quality heroin made in Afghanistan. Police sources say these unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), a euphemism for drones, are manufactured by China-based firm DJI, which is considered a global leader. Batala SSP Suhail Qasim Mir said the DJI firm is indeed one of the best in the business. “It is a robust firm manufacturing state-of-the-art drones. I agree that the equipment being flown from Pakistan has become more sophisticated, making our job difficult, if not impossible,” he said. He added that since these drones fly at night, it becomes difficult to detect them. He said, “However, we follow the humming sound emanating from these machines. We have a standard operating procedure (SOP) and we follow it carefully.”

Officials say that the drones manufactured by DJI are much smaller in size than conventional drones, they fly up to a height of 1 km, making them difficult to identify. These drones are equipped with high-tech cameras, so they can be used for surveillance and spying as well as for dropping packets of drugs. They can stay in the air for about 45 minutes and cover a distance of about 15 km. A senior official said that the launch pads of these flying machines were located near the IB, which means that state-sponsored Pakistani actors were clearly involved. On several occasions, Indian officials have raised the matter with Pakistan Rangers, but the results of such deliberations have not been very fruitful. There are talks of installing AI-enabled CCTV cameras at strategic points near the IB. However, the project is still on the drawing board and its implementation will take some time. Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit had claimed during one of his visits to Gurdaspur last year that anti-drone devices would be installed along the entire stretch of the international border. However, nothing concrete has been done so far. “Pakistan uses drones to minimise the risk involved in sending human infiltrators,” a senior police officer said. Since January 1, the BSF has seized 137 drones along with 28 weapons besides 160.28 kg of heroin in the state’s border villages. The highest seizures have been made in Tarn Taran and Amritsar.