Authorities reported that a drone, believed to have originated from Pakistan, was observed loitering over forward positions along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district, prompting security forces to initiate a search operation in the area early Saturday morning.
The unmanned aircraft was first sighted late Friday evening in Behrooti village, located within the Balakote area of the Mendhar sector.
According to officials, it then travelled towards the Mangalnar-Dabrote side, close to the border, before eventually returning to Pakistani territory. In response, Army units guarding the LoC stepped up surveillance and launched a ground search at daybreak to verify whether any suspicious payload had been dropped off or transported.
Officials have stated that the search efforts remain active, with security forces maintaining an elevated state of alert all along the border. Concurrently, a large-scale joint operation involving police, Army, and paramilitary troops is also underway across the dense forest belts of Udhampur, Kathua, and Rajouri, following intelligence inputs about questionable movements.
The coordinated search in the Udhampur-Kathua woodland region, which covers Khuban, Nagain, Khtrail, Godu Falal, Padetar, Chor Mottu, Kia, Kheba, Bhed, Marta, Joffar, and their surrounding areas, began on Friday evening and is still in progress. Additionally, in Rajouri district, a separate search was initiated in Gaibas, Mithiyani, Mogla, and Narla after local villagers alerted authorities to the presence of two unidentified armed individuals, suspected to be terrorists.
Despite the extensive operations, officials have confirmed that there has been no contact with any suspected persons thus far.
