Experts discuss ways to curb drug inflow from Pak

GURDASPUR: A multi-agency security meeting was held at the Sector headquarters of the Border Security Force (BSF) in Gurdaspur, which was jointly co-hosted by additional director general (ADG), Western Command, Chandigarh, and additional director general of police (ADGP) Special Task Force (STF)/Border, Punjab Police here on Thursday.

The meeting, first of its kind, had senior officers of the BSF, Punjab Police, army, district administration and all intelligence agencies, participate in it. The aim was to formulate strategy to contain the infiltration bid by anti-national elements and to curtail the drug flow to India, especially in Punjab.

Gurdaspur SSP Bhupinderjit Singh Virk said that the agencies have been working on this issue jointly as well as individually for a considerable period, however, for the first time, a meeting of this magnitude was held to ensure that the efforts were maximised on the ground-level.

The cutting edge of command, BSF battalion commanders and the SSPs of the border districts, will have better and co-ordinated synergy and will have an effective mechanism which will result in swift and spontaneous reaction from all sides in case of an imminent or possible threat.

During the meeting, concrete decisions were taken by both the ADGs, to identify the roots of infiltration problem and narcotic smuggling. And then, work on solutions to both the problems. They further formulated a plan, which will have a desirable and lasting effect on the ground level, the SSP added.

“This meeting will now be a regular feature and the agencies will continue to hold such meetings to work out solutions to the problems and wipe out any differences that were experienced in their daily working environment,” the SSP said.

The meeting was incidently attended by senior BSF officers from Jammu and police functionaries from Punjab border with representatives from the army formation and sister agencies, including intelligence agencies.

Later, the officials visited nearby areas and border out posts in Pathankot and Gurdaspur districts to review security arrangements.