Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Upendra Dwivedi said on Tuesday that recent sightings of small drones along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir appeared to be “defensive” in nature, aimed at probing Indian Army preparedness.
The army chief, however, asserted that that there are no gaps or laxities that could be exploited to infiltrate terrorists and that the head of Pakistan's military operations had been told to control these drone intrusions from Pakistan into India.
“About six drones were seen on January 10, and two to three were sighted on January 11 and 12. These drones were very small, flying with their lights on and not at very high altitudes,” General Upendra Dwivedi said addressing the annual press conference.
The Army chief assessed that the drones were likely being used to test India’s defensive posture rather than carry out an immediate hostile operation. “I believe these were defensive drones, trying to see if any action was being taken against us. It is possible they were also checking for gaps or laxity in the Indian Army through which terrorists could be sent,” he said.
A movement of suspected drones was observed in a number of forward areas along the International Border (IB) and Line of Control (LoC) in Samba, Rajouri and Poonch districts of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday evening, as per a report by PTI.
The flying objects came from the Pakistan side of the border and returned home after hovering over Indian territory for a few minutes, the news agency said quoting security officials.
However, he stressed that such attempts had failed. “They must have received a negative response. They would have seen that, as of today, there is no such place, no such gap from where terrorists can be pushed in,” he added.
The Army chief also confirmed that the issue was formally raised during a Director General of Military Operations (DGMO)-level conversation held on Monday. “This matter was discussed, and it was clearly conveyed that such drone activity is unacceptable to us and must be stopped,” he said.
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