Jammu, Feb 06: Calling the Border Security Force the country’s “indispensable wall,” Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday announced a major plan to modernise the force, with special emphasis on technology infusion and troop welfare along the International Border (IB) in Jammu and Kashmir.
On a two-day visit to the Union Territory, Shah flew to the forward Bobiya border outpost (BOP) in Kathua sector, where he told troops that the Centre will spend “a lot of money” to upgrade the BSF’s capabilities and improve facilities for its personnel and their families. “A team in the MHA is working on this,” he said as per Kashmir Convener.
The announcement is significant for the Jammu frontier of the BSF, which mans one of the most active stretches of the IB amid continued infiltration attempts and cross-border firing. Officials said the plan will include advanced surveillance, drones, weapon systems and mobility upgrades, along with enhanced healthcare, education and housing for troops.
‘Comments will be for you, not me’
In an interactive session, Shah said public admiration rests firmly with the force. “When I post about this visit on social media, the comments will not be for the Home Minister, but for my border guards. That is a very big thing,” he remarked.
He also paid tributes to Veer Chakra awardees Sub-Inspector Mohammad Imtiaz Ahmed and Soldier Deepak Chingkham of the BSF’s Jammu Kashmir Frontier, and honoured personnel who died in the line of duty.
Shah highlighted the frontier’s role in ‘Operation Sindoor’, which neutralised 118 posts and three terrorist launchpads along the border. “The nation sleeps peacefully because you are awake,” he told the jawans.
The visit, Shah’s first to a forward IB location in J&K in recent years, underscores the government’s focus on fortifying border infrastructure ahead of the Parliament session, where internal security is slated for discussion.
Before departing, the Home Minister laid a wreath at the BSF’s ‘Shaheed Smarak’ in Jammu and reiterated the government’s “full support” to forces guarding the frontiers.
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