BSF effectively guarding against infiltration, smuggling: MoS Rai

Amritsar: The Border Security Force (BSF) has been effectively thwarting the growing challenges of infiltration, drugs and arms smuggling and the menace of drones from across the border, Union minister Nityanand Rai said here on Sunday.

He was speaking while officiating as the chief guest of the 58th Raising Day parade of the force, the country's largest border guarding force with 2.65 lakh personnel, held in the campus of the Guru Nanak Dev University here, roughly 30 km from the India-Pakistan International Border that runs along Punjab.

The Union minister of state for home affairs also said that women personnel are increasingly being engaged in various duties being rendered by the force, which is reflective of the women empowerment vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The increasing challenges of infiltration, smuggling of narcotics and arms and the activity of drones are being effectively dealt with by the BSF and it has been continuously thwarting these attempts along our border, Rai said.

The minister did not specify the front but it is understood that he was referring to the India-Pakistan border running along this state.

The India-Pakistan International Border runs from Jammu in the north to Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat on the western flank of the country.

"Your (BSF) presence along the borders ensures that there is peace in the country and you have kept the front safe for the last 57 years," he said.