Jammu, Feb 6 : Emphasising the need to strengthen border security through modern tools, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said that while the constant vigilance of personnel deployed on the frontlines remains crucial, emerging challenges driven by advanced technology must be countered with equally advanced technological solutions.
Shah was addressing the troops of the Border Security Force (BSF) during his visit to the forward posts along the International Border in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua. He also lauded the role of the armed forces during Operation Sindoor when the Jammu frontier destroyed 118 enemy posts and three terror launch pads across the border.
He said the government and the BSF both share the common objective to keep the borders of the country secure, adding that the challenges faced some years ago are completely different from those faced today.
“The challenges we faced at the borders some years ago are completely different from the challenges we face today. Your dedication to remaining constantly vigilant on the frontlines is extremely important. However, as challenges are emerging through advanced technology, we must also find technological solutions to counter them,” the home minister said.
He was accompanied by Lt Governor Manoj Sinha, Home Secretary Govind Mohan, Director Intelligence Bureau Tapan Kumar Deka and Director General of BSF Praveen Kumar during his visit to the border outposts of Gurnam and Bobiyian in the Hiranagar sector.
His visit comes amid heightened focus on border management to scuttle infiltration of terrorists and smuggling of weapons and narcotics, and stepped-up anti-terror operations that left four hardcore Pakistani terrorists of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) dead in nearly a dozen encounters in Kathua, Udhampur and Kishtwar districts over the past two weeks.
Shah reached here late Thursday night on a two-day visit to J-K and was received by Lt Governor Sinha, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and senior BJP leaders, including Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Sunil Sharma.
In Kathua, the home minister virtually inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of six welfare schemes for border guards at Bobiyian, the officials said.
Addressing the BSF troops at Bobiyian, the home minister said he had come to oversee the border surveillance and directly engage with the force personnel.
“I have made a promise that the 60th year of the BSF would be observed as the year of BSF modernisation, and of the welfare of BSF personnel and their families. A team in the Ministry of Home Affairs is working on both these aspects,” he said.
