Foreign minister Dipu Moni has said that they did not get any clarifications yet from New Delhi about the media reports that the Indian border guards plan to deploy drones along the Bangladesh frontier.
“We just read it (drone deployment) in the newspapers,” she said, “and also read in the newspaper that Indian High Commission in Dhaka also read it in newspapers”.
Indian newspapers earlier reported that the BSF would soon deploy the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) along the border with Pakistan to maintain heightened vigil and planned to follow suit on the borders with Bangladesh.
But these UAVs will be unarmed, the reports said.
Following the reports, Dhaka on Monday sought clarification from the New Delhi.
The Indian High Commissioner Pankaj Saran on Wednesday urged all not to read too much into the media reports about drones.
While visitng Akhaura land port, the envoy said no decision was taken to introduce unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), reportedly unarmed, on the skylines.
He reiterated his government’s commitment to bring down border killings and said any decision to manage borders would be taken jointly.
Media reports said BSF was currently engaged with the Indian Air Force in drafting a standard operating procedure for the UAVs to finalise the modalities of their use.
The UAVs would be flying at an altitude of 10,000-12,000 feet to capture images and relay real-time information on the movement of illegal migrants , if any, anywhere near the border, the reports added.
India has deployed UAVs to check poaching at Kaziranga National Park to keep away those who hunt endangered one-horned rhinos and other wildlife.
Source: Bd news24
