Punjab: Home Guards will create second line of defence on the border

Punjab: The Punjab government has decided to deploy Home Guards to complement the Border Security Force (BSF) along the international border with Pakistan, announcing two initiatives to tackle the influx of drugs into the state. In addition, advanced anti-drone systems will also be installed. “For the first time in the history of Punjab, the state government will establish a second line of defence along the border by deploying 5,000 Home Guards along with the BSF,” Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said while presenting the state budget. He said the state government will deploy the most advanced anti-drone systems available anywhere in the world, which can track and neutralise sophisticated cross-border drones being used to drop drugs and weapons in Punjab. “We have already started testing state-of-the-art technologies and will deploy anti-drone systems along the border. I am allocating Rs 110 crore for these initiatives,” he said.

Of this, Rs 60 crore has been earmarked for the deployment of Home Guards. However, BSF officers have expressed scepticism over the move, pointing out that under the existing duty charter and terms of appointment, the Home Guards lack the requisite training and orientation to carry out border-guarding duties. “This does not seem to be a viable initiative,” said former BSF Inspector General KJS Cheema. “On the ground, there will be issues of inadequate coordination and synergy between BSF troops and Home Guards in terms of tactics, field-craft and operational procedures, as well as during operations,” he said. Cheema said the biggest threat to Punjab’s progress and prosperity is the problem of drugs. “An entire generation of youth is being hollowed out from within due to drugs,” he said. He said a large portion of drugs come into Punjab from across the border and it is primarily the Centre’s responsibility to prevent cross-border smuggling of drugs and weapons, as a 50-km stretch along the international border is under the BSF’s jurisdiction. The BSF is responsible for peacetime management of the international border.