A day after intelligence agencies shared inputs about the reactivation of launch pads on the border to push terrorists, a Pakistani drone was spotted by villagers during the intervening night of Sunday and Monday in Chilliyari village of Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir on the International Border.
A massive search operation has been launched in border areas by the Border Security Force (BSF) and J&K Police because there is apprehension that the Pakistan drone may have dropped arms and ammunition.
Reports said that some villagers of Chilliyari village spotted a drone during the intervening night of Sunday and Monday. The drone, reports said, was hovering at a height of over 500 meters and stayed on the Indian side between 10 to 12 minutes.
This was the second such drone sighting in the Samba district in the past month. Earlier, in June, a drone was spotted in Ghagwal village of Samba.
According to police, villagers informed a nearby police post that there was some flying object hovering over the border hamlet.
Dozen terrorist launch pads active across the border
A high alert has already been sounded in Jammu and Kashmir after inputs from the intelligence agency that Pakistan has reactivated over a dozen terrorist launch pads across the Line of Control (LoC) and International Border (IB).
As reported earlier the launch pads across the LoC in Kashmir Valley are abuzz with activities of terrorists, believed to be Afghan returnee mercenaries, receiving training with a possible push expected during the coming months.
Quoting official sources, reports said that nearly 200 terrorists are waiting on these launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) and Pakistan to infiltrate into Jammu and Kashmir.
Sources said that apart from increasing its activities on LoC, some launch pads have been reactivated on the IB to push from the plains of Jammu province.
"Detection of some tunnels and drops of arms is a clear indication of increasing activities of terrorists on IB in Jammu province", sources said.
Patrolling on the border intensified after intelligence inputs
Quoting official sources a news agency reported that keeping in view the threat assessment, patrolling of Border Security Force (BSF) as well as the Army has been more frequent along the LoC to foil any infiltration attempt from across the border.
Reports said that the terrorists are trying to use tunnels and riverine areas to infiltrate Jammu and Kashmir through IB. Terrorists affiliated with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), and Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) are desperate to sneak into this side of the border.
Reports said that the terrorists are now trying the Rajouri-Poonch routes, the areas south of Pir Panjal.
Inputs regarding these launch pads across LoC are significant as the 43-day long Amarnath Yatra started on June 30 after a gap of two years and lakhs of pilgrims are visiting the Union Territory.
