Security on high alert in Jammu & Kashmir: Pakistani drone sighted in Kathua, anti-terror search intensifies in Poonch
A drone crossing from across the border was sighted hovering over forward villages in the Hiranagar sector of Kathua district, prompting security forces to launch a search operation in the area
Security forces also conducted a large-scale anti-terror search operation across villages in Poonch district following inputs about suspected movement of terrorist groups
An old, unexploded mortar shell was separately recovered from a residential property in Kathua district during excavation work, and was handed over to the appropriate authorities
These developments occurred amid heightened security alertness along the India-Pakistan border, with the government stating it would take necessary steps to safeguard national interests
International Border vs Line of Control — Two Different Legal and Command Regimes
Kathua district lies along the International Border (IB), which is legally and operationally distinct from the Line of Control (LoC) that runs through the Kashmir Valley and parts of the Jammu region. Poonch, by contrast, lies along the LoC.
Key Details
- The IB (about 192 km in the Jammu sector) is an internationally recognised, legally demarcated boundary and is primarily guarded by the Border Security Force (BSF), a Central Armed Police Force under the Ministry of Home Affairs
- The LoC (about 740 km) is a ceasefire line established after the 1948 and 1971 India-Pakistan conflicts and formalised through the Shimla Agreement (1972); it is not an international boundary and is primarily guarded by the Indian Army, with the BSF providing a second line of defence in some sectors
- This command distinction matters operationally: incidents along the IB (like the Kathua drone sighting) typically trigger a BSF-led response, while operations along or near the LoC involve Army-led counter-infiltration measures
The Kathua drone sighting (IB, BSF jurisdiction) and the Poonch anti-terror operation (LoC-adjacent, Army/Rashtriya Rifles-led) illustrate how India's border security architecture assigns different lead agencies depending on which line is involved, even though both fall within Jammu division and both responded to the same period of heightened alert.
Counter-Drone (Counter-UAS) Framework Along the Western Border
Small, low-cost drones launched from across the border have become a persistent smuggling and surveillance threat along the India-Pakistan border, distinct from larger military-grade unmanned platforms.
Key Details
- India's first dedicated framework, the National Counter Rogue Drone Guidelines, was issued in 2019, followed by a National Counter Rogue Drone Technology (NCRDT) policy covering detection, identification, and neutralisation of unauthorised drones
- The Drone Rules, 2021 separately liberalised civilian drone operations while mandating registration through the Digital Sky platform, distinguishing lawful civilian use from the interdiction framework applied to hostile or unidentified drones
- Small drones along the western border have primarily been used to smuggle narcotics, weapons, and counterfeit currency rather than for direct attacks, prompting the BSF to invest in jammers, radio-frequency detectors, net guns, and smart-fencing/sensor systems
- The BSF has adopted forensic counter-UAS technology to analyse recovered drones and trace smuggling networks, reflecting a shift from purely kinetic (shoot-down) responses to intelligence-led interdiction
The Kathua sighting fits this established pattern of small cross-border drone incursions along the IB, distinct from the large military UAS platforms used in conventional conflict, and triggers the BSF's standard detect-and-search protocol rather than an Army-led counter-infiltration operation.
AFSPA and the Legal Basis for Counter-Insurgency Operations in J&K
Search and counter-terror operations of the kind conducted in Poonch draw their legal authority from the "disturbed area" framework under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA), as extended to Jammu and Kashmir.
Key Details
- AFSPA has been in force in Jammu and Kashmir since July 5, 1990, initially applied through the state's own Disturbed Areas Act; when the erstwhile state was reorganised into a Union Territory in 2019, neither the Disturbed Areas Act nor AFSPA's applicability was revoked
- Under AFSPA, once an area is declared "disturbed," armed forces personnel are empowered to conduct search operations, make arrests without warrant, and use force in specified circumstances, subject to safeguards including a requirement of prior sanction for prosecution
- Declarations of "disturbed area" status are typically notified for six-month periods and are subject to periodic review, consistent with Supreme Court guidance in past AFSPA-related litigation
- Rashtriya Rifles, the Army's dedicated counter-insurgency force, was raised on October 1, 1990 specifically for internal security duties in insurgency-affected areas; it now comprises around 65 battalions organised into Counter Insurgency Force formations covering the Kashmir Valley and Jammu division
The Poonch search operation, which the article notes was carried out with Rashtriya Rifles assistance, operates within this AFSPA/Disturbed Areas Act legal framework, which is what empowers security forces to conduct village-to-village searches without individual case-by-case judicial warrants.
- International Border (Jammu sector): approx. 192 km, BSF-guarded; Line of Control: approx. 740 km, Army-guarded, formalised via the Shimla Agreement, 1972
- AFSPA in force in J&K since: July 5, 1990; declarations of "disturbed area" status reviewed roughly every six months
- Rashtriya Rifles: raised October 1, 1990; approx. 65 battalions organised into five Counter Insurgency Force formations across Kashmir Valley and Jammu division
- Counter-drone policy timeline: National Counter Rogue Drone Guidelines (2019) → Drone Rules, 2021 (civilian regulation via Digital Sky)
- Cross-border drones along the India-Pakistan border have primarily been used for smuggling narcotics, weapons, and counterfeit currency rather than direct attacks