Frontline vigilance must be backed by technology: Home Minister Shah

Jammu, Feb 6 (PTI) 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.

For the welfare of BSF personnel, he said the government will also bring a special scheme.

“Additionally, the government is ready to spend funds required to modernise border security on the basis of technology. I believe that improved border infrastructure and modern equipment will greatly help you in performing your duties. Through this, we will also try to reduce your difficulties to some extent, so that you can discharge your responsibilities in a better manner,” he said.

Extending his best wishes to BSF personnel, the home minister said it is because of their sense of duty and dedication that the entire nation sleeps peacefully and feels secure.

“Whenever I visit a BSF post -- whether it is the desert of Kutch, Rajasthan, or the region of Jammu and Kashmir -- I always return after learning from the true spirit of duty, consciousness and the highest standards which you demonstrate while carrying out your duties with dedication and commitment,” the home minister said.

He said if there is the finest example of dedication and duty-bound service among all forces, it is the BSF jawans who remain deployed on the borders day and night.

“This spirit is rooted in your 60 years of valour-filled history, which has earned you respect and admiration across the entire nation,” he said.

He said whenever there has been a threat of intrusion or infiltration, the BSF has stood firm like an impregnable wall -- unyielding and resolute -- and has continuously worked to keep the nation secure.

Referring to Operation Sindoor in May last year, Shah said the exemplary courage displayed by the BSF has become a golden chapter in its six-decade-long history.

“Even in that difficult moment, all of you kept alive and elevated the spirit that we are the guardians of the border, ensuring that it remained radiant and unshaken. Under the Jammu and Kashmir frontier, 118 posts and three terror launch pads were destroyed by the BSF,” he said.

Shah paid tributes to Sub-inspector Mohammad Imtiyaz and Constable Deepak Chingtham, who made the supreme sacrifice in the Jammu sector and were honoured with Vir Chakra for their exceptional bravery.

Not only on the borders, the home minister said, even in the interior regions of the country -- whether it is the difficult terrain of Manipur, the north-eastern states, or particularly the Maoist-affected areas suffering from left-wing extremism in Odisha and Chhattisgarh -- the BSF has demonstrated courage, commitment and valour.

“During the natural calamity in Punjab (in August-September last year), you displayed humanity and showed deep compassion towards the people. When the Chief Minister of Punjab (Bhagwant Mann) came to meet me, he himself said that had the BSF not been there, the difficulties faced by everyone during the floods would have increased manifold,” he said.

The home minister also laid a wreath at the martyrs memorial at Bobiyian border outpost as a tribute to the border guards who laid down their lives for the country. "I paid tribute to the brave soldiers who made the supreme sacrifice for the nation's defense... The soldiers' sacrifice and unwavering dedication are inspiring to every citizen. I salute their indomitable courage and bravery," he wrote on X. PTI TAS TAS MNK MNK