New Delhi:
To fuel terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, authorities in Punjab have confirmed at least eight drone sorties, carrying 80 kg of weapons that were sent across the border into Punjab by revived Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF) outufit backed by Pakistan and Germany-based terror group. Five people have so far been arrested by Punjab Police in connection with the drone drops, according to Hindustan Times report.
“The deliveries were made on the intervening nights of September 6/7, 9/10 and the last one on 15/16. The last drone crashed at Rajoke Village, Khalra police station, in Tarn Taran, near a border drain which is 2km from the fencing on the international border with Pakistan,” the report added.
“It has also been revealed that such deliveries took place on four different dates, mostly between 9.30 pm and 10.30 pm with the drone making two sorties within an hour,” said a senior Punjab Police official.
Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh has decided to hand over further investigations in the case to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to ensure that the entire conspiracy is unravelled.
With initial investigations revealing the use of drones to deliver terrorists weapons and communication hardware across the border, the chief minister has also urged the Central government to direct the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Border Security Force (BSF) to launch necessary counter-measures to check any further threat from drones to the border state of Punjab.
According to DGP Dinkar Gupta, the weapons were suspected to have been delivered recently across the Indo-Pak border from Pakistan over drones launched by the Pak establishment, the ISI, and the state-sponsored Jihadi and pro-Khalistani terrorist outfits working under its command.
Tensions between India and Pakistan spiked after India abrogated provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution to withdraw Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and bifurcated it into two Union Territories, evoking strong reactions from Pakistan.
Pakistan downgraded diplomatic relations and suspended bilateral trade with India. Islamabad had demanded that the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) set up a commission to look into what it termed as “Indian brutality" in the region.
