Second rung of Defence along International Border

News

• The Centre is planning to create a second rung of defence along 202-kilometres long International Border (IB) in the region as many terrorists have managed to successfully infiltrate through Samba and create havoc in neighbouring areas.
• A high-level team of Home Ministry and state officials toured the entire IB, stretching from Samba to Akhnoor, official sources said. Beyond Akhnoor, the Line of Control starts upto Kupwara in Kashmir region.

Reasons

• The teams observed that Border Security Force (BSF) was stationed at the border but without a proper back up from either police or army as the second line of defence.
• The national highway and railway track connecting the state to the rest of the country also passes through Samba and hence it was decided to create a second line of defence along the entire stretch of international border.
• The second tier of defence will have personnel drawn from para-military forces as well as from the state police and it will provide back up for the BSF which has not been able to plug gaps along the international border especially the Samba area.
• The second tier would be manning the gaps of Chap and Tarnah nallahs which have been frequently used by terrorists to come to the national highway from where they used to hijack or take lift from passing vehicles to reach Samba town.