South Asia Terrorism Portal
Drone Intrusions Bulbul Prakash Research Assistant, Institute for Conflict Management
On May 21, 2023, Border Security Force (BSF) shot down a Pakistani drone along the International Border (IB) near Dhanoe Kalan village in Amritsar District of Punjab. In the subsequent search, it recovered a drone along with a consignment of three packets containing three kilograms of narcotics attached to it with an iron ring, from the fields adjacent to the village.
On May 19, 2023, BSF troops shot down two Pakistani drones when they attempted to enter India across the IB in the Amritsar District of Punjab. In the subsequent search, the first drone was recovered from Udhar Dhariwal village, while the second was recovered from Rattan Khurd village. In the second case, two packets attached to the drone, containing 2.6 kilograms of Heroin, were also recovered.
On May 18, 2023, BSF troops recovered 2.1 kilograms of narcotics and a pistol, dropped from a drone, from Bhamba Wattu Hithar village in Fazilka District, Punjab.
On May 17, 2023, BSF troops fired at a drone, coming from Pakistan, in Ramkot village, Amritsar District. Five packets of Heroin were recovered in the subsequent search.
On May 16, 2023 the BSF shot at a Pakistani drone near the IB in Kakkar village, Amritsar District. The BSF recovered 15.5 kilograms of narcotics from the incident site.
According to partial data compiled by Institute for Conflict Management (ICM), at least 57 incidents of drone sightings/entering into India along the India-Pakistan borders/from Pakistan have already been recorded in the current year, 2023 (data till May 21). There were 228 such incidents in 2022, 104 in 2021, 77 in 2020 and 167 in 2019 – a total of 633 incidents since 2019, when the first incident was reported.
Drone incidents: 2019 - 2023
As is evident, the highest number of such incidents have been reported from Punjab, followed by J&K, Rajasthan and Gujarat. Punjab accounted for 77.25 per cent of the total incidents from across the four states bordering Pakistan from where such drone crossings have been reported.
Notably, on August 13, 2019, a Pakistani 'Hexacopter Drone' designed and manufactured by T. Motors, a Chinese company, with a 21-kilogram payload capacity, was recovered for the first time, in Mohawa village, Amritsar District.
As SAIR has highlighted earlier, with increasing vigilance along the International Border, Pakistan started using these drones to send ‘composite consignments’ [weapons+drugs+Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN)] into India. The consignments included drugs such as heroin, opium, etc.; and weapons and ammunition, including AK-47/56 rifles, pistols, and RDX. The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) uses the services of a common network of drug smugglers/couriers to push in composite consignments mainly into Indian Punjab from Pakistan, exploiting gaps along the land and riverine borders. The drug smugglers/couriers working under the ISI’s aegis also throw consignments over the border fence in areas where infiltration is not suspected. Their Indian partners later collect the goods. Khalistani groups in Pakistan and their sympathisers and affiliates on the Indian side are intimately connected with the drug/weapons smuggling activity.
On March 27, 2023, Union Minister of State (MoS) for Home Nisith Pramanik informed the Lok Sabha (Lower house of the Parliament),
On April 12, 2023, Ruchira Kamboj, India's Permanent Ambassador to the United Nations (UN), called for international condemnation of Pakistan sending weapons across the IB to terrorists operating in India. Kamboj stated at the Security Council,
The majority of these incidents have involved Chinese hexacopters (one of China’s tactical drones with six blades), which have a payload of up to 80 kilograms, and were likely intended for use in attacks within India.
In the first-ever successful offensive use of drones in India, in the night of June 26-27, 2021, two explosive payloads were dropped, within a span of six minutes, on the Indian Air Force (IAF) station in Jammu, in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), by drones/unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Two Security Forces (SF) personnel were injured and a building was damaged in the explosions. Again, in the night of June 27-28, 2021, two drones were found hovering over Ratnuchak and Kaluchak military stations in Jammu. Defence spokesperson Lt. Col. Devender Anand disclosed that “two separate drone activities were spotted over Ratnuchak-Kaluchak military areas” and “a major threat was thwarted by the alertness and proactive approach of troops” who “engaged them [drones] with firing”.
With their ability to quickly and discreetly transport composite consignments while minimizing the risk of detection, drones have become increasingly popular as "ideal drug mules" for Pakistan. India, with its strategic location and porous borders, has become an attractive transit point for drug trafficking from Afghanistan and Pakistan to other parts of the world, including Europe and the United States. Punjab, in particular, has emerged as a prominent target of the illicit drug trade due to its increasing domestic market for drugs.
The use of intelligence inputs and Global Positioning System (GPS) mapping has shown that a significant proportion of incoming drones are controlled from locations such as the Pakistan Rangers' premises or specialized locations utilized by smugglers and terrorists, in close proximity to the rangers' posts.
Meanwhile, in October 2019, India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) came up with the National Counter Rogue Drone Guidelines, to handle the threat of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAV). It recommended a range of measures to combat rogue drones based on the criticality of the assets being safeguarded. The guidelines prescribed the use of primary and passive detection mechanisms, such as radar, Radio Frequency (RF) detectors, electro-optical and infrared cameras, along with soft and hard kill measures like RF jammers, GPS spoofers, lasers, and drone-catching nets.
However, a search for adequate mechanisms to deal with this menace is still going on. Since 2021, the BSF has been conducting a trial of anti-drone technology, which, according to its officials, operates within a specific frequency range and has not yielded satisfactory results in terms of effectiveness. An unnamed senior BSF official thus stated,
It is imperative now to make further and rapid technological advancements in the field of anti-drone mechanisms. This is especially crucial in the light of the increasing occurrences of drone incursions.
Odisha: Kalahandi - Elusive Goal Deepak Kumar Nayak Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management
On May 15, 2023, Security Forces (SFs) averted a major attack by defusing an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) planted by Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres in a forest area near Kichatpadar under Sadar Police limits in Kalahandi District. The IED, planted on the Bhawanipatna-Thuamul Rampur-Kashipur Road, which was blocked with felled trees, was to target Security Force (SF) personnel during the Maoists’ bandh (general shut down strike) call in Rayagada, Ganjam, Kandhamal, Kalahandi, Boudh, Nayagarh and Gajapati Districts, on May 15.
On May 9, 2023, at least three CPI-Maoist cadres were killed in an encounter between Police personnel and the Maoists inside the Taperenga-Ludengad Forest area under M. Rampur Police Station limits in Kalahandi District. A combing operation was launched in view of the week-long Maoist campaign, as part of their strategy to regroup in the region. During the subsequent search operation, the bodies of three Maoists were recovered from the site. One AK-47 assault rifle was also recovered. One Deputy Superintendent of Police sustained critical injuries during the exchange of fire.
On February 2, 2023, during a combing operation in the Bhuruti Forest under Narla Police limits in Kalahandi District, SFs recovered one locally made rifle, 11 Electric detonators, four batteries, one axe, two torchlights, clothes, medicines, one Maoist banner, Naxal [Left Wing Extremism] literature, and other items.
According to partial data collated by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), these are the three Maoist-linked incidents in 2023 (data till May 21). In 2022, there was a total of eight incidents. Since March 6, 2000, the district has recorded 71 incidents.
Just one of the three incidents in 2023 was a killing incident. Year 2022 had recorded two incidents of killing resulting two civilian deaths. Since March 6, 2000, a total of 23 incidents of killing have bene recorded in the district, resulting in 33 deaths (12 civilians, two SF personnel and 19 Naxalites).
These numbers demonstrate that the SFs have maintained their dominance on the ground in their fight against Maoists. Since 2000, there is only one incident in which SFs suffered fatal losses, that too during an offensive against Maoists. On September 9, 2020, SFs initiated an operation in the forest area of Kandhamal District, during which they were subjected to heavy firing from the other side. In the ensuing exchange, five Maoists, including a woman, and two SF personnel were killed.
Moreover, SFs have arrested a total of six Naxalites (Left Wing Extremist) in the District, since March 6, 2000, though no arrest has been registered in the current year. The last arrest was recorded on March 2, 2020, when a Maoist, identified as Ghana Majhi (30), a ‘militia member’ of the ‘Kandhamal, Kalahandi, Boudh, Nayagarh (KKBN) Division’, was arrested along with explosives, which were to be supplied to fellow Maoists from the Barabandha Forest under Madanpur Rampur Police Station limits in Kalahandi District. The Police also recovered Maoist leaflets and food materials from his possession.
Mounting SF pressure has led to the surrender of 10 Naxalites, since 2000. On May 1, 2022, the ‘secretary’ of the CPI-Maoist ‘Kalahandi Area Committee’, Laxman Apka alias Lalsu, carrying a cash reward of INR 500,000 on his head, surrendered before the Police at Bhawanipatna in Kalahandi District.
Other parameters also suggest that the Maoists were never able to establish their hold in Kalahandi. The rebels triggered five blasts since 2000, with the last one recorded on February 5, 2022. A total of eight arson incidents have been recorded in the district since 2000, the last one on May 24, 2022, when at least three vehicles engaged in road construction work at Tala Pipili village under Sadar Police Station limits in Kalahandi District were set ablaze by CPI-Maoist cadres.
Despite the clear SF dominance, civilians have intermittently been targeted. Of 12 civilians killed, one was killed in 2011, two in 2015, three in 2016, one each in 2017 and 2018 and two each in 2019 and 2022. The last civilian killing was reported on November 24, 2022, when Maoists shot dead a 48-year-old man, Lalbati Majhi, at Panchakul village under Sadar Police Station limits in Bhawanipatna, Kalahandi District. According to reports, while Lalbati was sleeping in his house, he was roused and forcibly taken away by the Maoists and killed near Katlang village. The Maoists left some posters at the spot in which the Maoists’ ‘Bansadhara-Ghumusar-Nagabali (BGN) Division’ declared that Lalbati was punished for working as a ‘Police informer’. The posters also warned other people in the area, who were working as informers for the Police, would soon be punished.
Kalahandi District occupies the south-western portion of Odisha, sharing borders with the Bolangir and Nuapada Districts in the north, Nabarangpur, Rayagada, and Koraput Districts to the south, Raipur District (Chhattisgarh State) to the west, and Rayagada, Kandhamal, and Boudh District to the east. The district occupies an area of 7,920 square kilometres, with 2538.01 square kilometres, or about 32.04 per cent of its total geographical area, under forest cover. The physiography of the district comprises plains, hills, and mountains. Administratively, Kalahandi District is divided into two subdivisions – Bhawanipatna and Dharmagarh. These two subdivisions are further divided into seven and six blocks, respectively. Sharing its borders with the worst Naxalite-affected state, Chhattisgarh, to the west, and other Naxalite-affected districts of Odisha to the east, north and south, has made Kalahandi an ideal place for a guerrilla safe haven.
Moreover, the district falls under the disturbed ‘KKBN Division’, which has accounted for at least 118 Maoist-linked fatalities (51 civilians, 23 SF personnel, and 44 Maoists), since March 6, 2000, which is around 12.62 per cent of the total fatalities recorded in the State, 935 Maoist-linked fatalities (375 civilians, 227 SF personnel, and 326 Maoists).
Kalahandi is in the list of ‘25 Most Affected Districts’, from eight States across India, released by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA) on June 19, 2021. Moreover, Kalahandi is also included among the 70 Naxal-affected Districts in 10 States across India, covered under the Centre’s Security Related Expenditure (SRE) scheme, which funds focused operations against the rebels.
Indeed, concerns persist, as the Maoists continue to work to secure the district as a safe haven. The recovery of a Maoist dump on February 2, 2023, underlines the persistence of such efforts.
The Maoists using diverse tactics to garner the sympathy of the civilian population, raising issues concerning the common people. Thus, for example, the Maoists called for a bandh (general shut down strike) in seven districts of Odisha, including Kalahandi, on May 15, 2023 alleging that the poor of the State were being denied access to education, healthcare and housing. They emphasised the need for the Government to rectify these discrepancies and ensure the welfare of the marginalised population. Further, the Maoists demanded establishment of Adarsha (Model) Schools and hospitals in every Panchayat (a village level local self-Government institution) within the district. Other demands included the fair distribution of forest land, accurate valuation of forest produce, end to the sale of alcohol in the region and fulfilment of demands put forth by Anganwadi (rural child care centre) workers and teachers.
At present, nine CRPF companies, along with five teams of the Special Operation Group, 50 District Voluntary Force units, five India Reserve Battalion, and one Special Security Battalion, are positioned in Kalahandi to counter the Maoists.
Though the Forces have long been able to contain the Maoist threat in Kalahandi, the rebels’ efforts to make a base in the district persist. Any neglect of the residual capacities of the Maoist at this juncture is likely to prove detrimental to a lasting solution to this enduring insurgency.
Weekly Fatalities: Major Conflicts in South Asia May 15-21, 2023
Civilians
Security Force Personnel
NS
Total
AFGHANISTAN
BANGLADESH
CHT
INDIA
Jammu and Kashmir
Jharkhand
Manipur
India (Total)
PAKISTAN
Balochistan
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
PAKISTAN (Total)
Total (South Asia)
Taliban's Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada appoints Mawlawi Abdul Kabir as the acting PM of Afghanistan until he recovers from illness: Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Supreme Leader of the Taliban, has appointed Mawlawi Abdul Kabir to serve as the interim Prime Minister of Afghanistan until he recovers from illness. The Khaama Press News Agency, May 17, 2023.
UN gives up women's right in Afghanistan, says report: London-based news agency Tortoise media highlighted in one of its reports titled "United Nations (UN) betrays women in Afghanistan" that the organization does not protect its Afghan female employees against gender apartheid and has completely given up on the rights of Afghan women. It stated that UN agencies, including the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), World Food Program (WFP), and World Health Organization (WHO), have bowed to Taliban pressure and continue operating by abiding by the group's gender-based policies, which restrict Afghan women from working for the UN agencies in Afghanistan. The Khaama Press News Agency, May 17, 2023
Summit on Afghanistan yielded no constructive result, says Russian Special Representative for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov: Russian Special Representative for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov told TAAS Russian News Agency on May 13 that the summit on Afghanistan held on May 1-2 in Doha, Qatar, yielded no constructive results. He further said, "We, the regional partners, including Russia, China, Iran, Pakistan, India, and Central Asian countries believe that the priority should be to create an inclusive government in Afghanistan. Forming such an inclusive administration will help to resolve many other key issues including women's rights." The Khaama Press News Agency, May 13, 2023.
PLFI 'supremo' Dinesh Gope arrested in Nepal and brought to Delhi: Dinesh Gope, the 'supremo' of the People's Liberation Front of India (PLFI), a splinter group of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), was arrested from Nepal in a joint operation by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Jharkhand Police and was brought to Delhi on May 21. "Yes, he has been arrested from Nepal and he is being brought to Delhi where he will be produced before a competent court for further course of action," confirmed a Police official. Gope is to be produced in Delhi. The New Indian Express, May 21, 2023.
US court allows extradition of 26/11 attack accused Tahawwur Rana to India: A United States (US) court in California on May 16, consented to the Indian request, through the US government, for the extradition of Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman Tahawwur Rana to India where he is sought for his involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack (26/11). On June 10, 2020, India filed a complaint seeking the provisional arrest of Rana with a view towards extradition. The Hindu, May 16 2023.
Arrested PFI operatives had opened secret office in Varanasi to execute 'Ghazwa-e-Hind' plan, says Uttar Pradesh ATS: Sources in the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) stated that the two suspected operatives of the Popular Front of India (PFI), identified as Parvez and Raees, who were arrested by the Uttar Pradesh ATS from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh on May 7, had opened a secret office in Lucknow to carry out their activities. Sources in the ATS stated that the accused had attended 'secret' meetings of the PFI being held in several places, including Karnataka. After attending the meeting held in Karnataka, both of them had opened a secret office in Varanasi itself, where strategy was made to implement 'Gazwa-e-Hind' (battle of India) plan to the ground. ETV Bharat , May 15, 2023.
India condemns UN Special Rapporteur's comments on Kashmir ahead of G20 meet: On May 16, India's mission to the United Nations (UN) strongly rejected the comments made by UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues, Fernand de Varennes, regarding the upcoming G20 meeting in Srinagar District of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) on May 22-24, 2023, calling them "baseless and unwanted". Varennes accused the G20 countries of "unwittingly" supporting the "facade of normalcy" in J&K through their scheduled participation in Srinagar. The Telegraph, May 16, 2023.
TTP showcases new recruits in modern warfare gear drawing parallels with Afghan Taliban special forces: Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has released a set of pictures featuring group's new recruits under training. Fighters dressed in modern warfare gear including thermal vision equipped helmets and rifles, suppressed rifles, and laser sights, bearing similarities with the equipment used by Afghan Taliban special forces. Twitter Khorasan Diary, May 17, 2023.
The South Asia Intelligence Review (SAIR) is a weekly service that brings you regular data, assessments and news briefs on terrorism, insurgencies and sub-conventional warfare, on counter-terrorism responses and policies, as well as on related economic, political, and social issues, in the South Asian region.
SAIR is a project of the Institute for Conflict Management and the South Asia Terrorism Portal
To receive FREE advance copies of SAIR by email Subscribe. Recommend South Asia Intelligence Review (SAIR) To A Friend