Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Amarinder Singh on Wednesday expressed concern over the increase in spate of activities by the ISI at the Punjab borders in the wake of growing pressure in Jammu and Kashmir.
During the meeting convened by the CM with the Congress’ Members of Parliament (MPs) from both Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha, Amarinder reiterated the need to prepare strategies for the development or installation of required infrastructure, such as radars, that can detect movement of different kinds of low flying conventional aerial platforms, such as drones.
Joined by Congress MPs from Punjab, the CM underlined the need for high-end precision detection equipment to check the use of drones by Pakistan to smuggle long-range weapons across the border.
Amarinder said he had already flagged the issue with the Centre and had written to the Ministry of Home Affairs back in August, 2019, when the first of instance of use of such drones came to light. He had expressed serious concern over the delivery of weapons through the drone like a long-range weapons consignment from across the Indo-Pak border, terming it a matter of national security concern.
The CM had pointed out in his letter that various lands of contraband, including weapons, explosives and drugs, could be safely delivered via drones.
Suitable counter-measures against the use of such drones would also need to be evolved, he stressed. Besides the MPs, the meeting was attended by Punjab Congress chief, Sunil Jakhar, and senior officials of the state government.
On high alert since the outbreak of drone activity along the Indo-Pak border, the Punjab Police had earlier this month seized two highly sophisticated Chinese-made drones, and arrested an Army Naik and two smugglers belonging to a narco-terror module, involved in smuggling of weapons and narcotics across the border.
The seizure, resulting from targeted and Intelligence-led search operations, also included drone batteries, custom-made drone containers, two Walkie Talkie sets, Rs 6.22 lakh in cash, believed to be proceeds of drugs, and the magazine of an INSAS Rifle.
The drones, capable of travelling two to three kilometers on either side of the border, were reportedly being launched from the Indian side to fly into Pakistan to pick up payloads of narcotics.
Meanwhile, perceiving the Agriculture Price Commission’s latest recommendation to the Centre to review the Minimum Support Price policy as a serious threat to Punjab’s farmers, Punjab Congress MPs have urged CM Amarinder Singh to approach the Prime Minister and urge him not to consider any such review.
Any change in MSP procurement policy will adversely impact Punjab’s economy, they felt, expressing the fear that the Centre would limit procurement as the first step towards putting an end to MSP purchase.