India on Saturday lodged a strong protest over drone activities by Pakistan in the Jammu area during a sector commander-level meeting between the Border Security Force and the Pakistan Rangers, officials said.
"It was the first sector commander-level meeting between the two border guarding forces after the declaration of ceasefire agreement by DGMOs (in February)," a BSF spokesperson said.
The meeting was held at the request of Pakistan Rangers at the International Border (IB) in the Suchetgarh area and it was decided to re-energise instant communication between field commanders, whenever required, to resolve operational matters, the spokesperson said.
Commanders of both the border guarding forces discussed various issues with the main emphasis by the BSF delegation on Pakistani drone activities, terrorist activities and digging of tunnels from across the border and other issues related to border management, he said.
A very strong protest was lodged by BSF delegates regarding drone activities by Pakistan authorities in the Jammu area, the officials said.
At the same time, both sides expressed their commitment to maintaining peace and harmony at the IB, they said.
"The meeting was held in a cordial, positive and constructive atmosphere and both sides agreed on an expeditious implementation of the decisions taken in the earlier DG-level talks and committed to each other to maintain peace and harmony at the IB," the spokesperson said.
The BSF delegation was led by DIG Surjit Singh and the Pakistan Rangers delegation was headed by Brigadier Murad Hussain, sector commander of Sialkot.
The Jammu and Kashmir Police on Friday shot down a drone carrying improvised explosive device (IED) material weighing five kilograms in the border belt of Jammu district.
Additional Director General of police (ADGP) Mukesh Singh had said terrorist outfits across the border such as the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) were using drones for attacks and sending weapons to their operatives on the Indian side of the border.
Drones were used on June 27 to drop explosives at the Indian Air Force (IAF) station in Jammu airport, causing minor injuries to its two personnel. Following the terror attack, several border districts have banned or put restrictions on the use of drones.