Central intelligence agencies have discovered Pakistan operating six drone centres close to Punjab border, which has put the security establishment of the country on high alert along the border. If top intelligence sources are to be believed, Pakistan is using these centres to launch drones to smuggle arms and drugs into India. There have been 55 drone activities in the past four months.
What is worrying the security agencies is that Pakistan has deployed Bayraktar TB-2 drone, an unmanned combat aircraft used to carry out air strikes, near the border. According to senior security officials, the TB-2 drone has been spotted at the Murid base of the Pakistani Air Force, which is located in the Chakwal district of Pakistan Punjab. TB-2 drone is capable of carrying heavy payloads and can travel long distance while dodging the surveillance systems like radars.
Much cheaper than American and Israeli drones, Bayraktar TB-2 UAV is used for precision air strikes, using laser-guided bombs, which can adjust their path mid-air. The drone can fly at a speed of 130–222 kmph and can carry a load of 700 kg. TB-2 UAVs were used in the Azerbaijan and Armenia war in 2020.
Well-placed sources with the security agencies on Friday told The Daily Guardian that the neighbouring country has set up these six drone centres along the border with help from Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and PakRangers. Smugglers have been seen mastering drone flying with the help of Pak Rangers at many places across the border near Khem Karan and Ferozepur. Indian security agencies have spotted 55 drone activities in the past four months.
Security agencies also believe that terrorists are also helping in operating the drone centres. According to senior intelligence officials, terrorist groups bought state-of-the-art drones from China last year. In a proxy war between China and India, Pakistan is providing modern drones to terror groups funded by the ISI to target Indian military installations. Pakistan is using China-made DJI Matrice-300 drones, which can carry 10 kg and can fly up to 10 km for an hour.
Sources said that Pakistan is using these drones to drop guns and drugs into this side of the border. According to the Border Security Force (BSF) IG (Punjab Border) Asif Jalal, the BSF shot down drones nine times in the first four months this year, leading to seizures of explosives and drugs. The BSF seized about 1150 kg of drugs on the Punjab border in the past 3 years and 150 kg of drugs in the first 4 months this year. “The BSF is fully prepared on the international border in Punjab. We shot down the drone several times and made a huge recovery. In some areas, we have anti-drone systems installed on our border. There are repeated efforts from the Pakistan side, but our security is tight,” Jalal told The Daily Guardian.
According to sources with the security agencies, Pakistan has also acquired the Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV) CH-4 from China. The CH-4 UCAV is considered to be a very lethal combat drone. Its spy range is very high and is capable of carrying weapons weighing up to 350 kg.
Intelligence agencies believe that the ISI is getting information on the border areas of Punjab with help from extremist elements like the Indian Sikh Youth Federation chief Lakhbir Singh Rode, Paramjit Singh Panjwad, Khalistan Zindabad Force’s Ranjit Singh Neeta, Babbar Khalsa’s Wadhwa Singh and Harinder Singh Rinda. In addition, the ISI is setting up a network of sleeper cells in Punjab. The ISI is also roping in Kashmiri terrorists for the network, sources said.