India-Pakistan Panjab Border a Frontline for Drone Warfare

On 18 Oct, in an address at the Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) in Kakul, Pakistani army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir said Pakistan’s expanding military capabilities could 'shatter the misconceived immunity of India’s geographical warspace.' He also cautioned that there was 'no space for war in a nuclearized environment.' Muni also said that Pakistan had achieved a 'clear victory' in its brief May confrontation with India. In India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi keeps mentioning Operation Sindoor (vermillion mark) in speeches but has never refuted US President Donald Trump's repeated claims that he brokered the ceasefire between the two countries. In fact, Modi has even avoided meeting Trump at the Gaza Peace Summit in Egypt and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Malaysia in October. Pakistan’s Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Naveed Ashraf, has also undertaken a visit to Pakistan’s forward posts in the disputed Creek Areas along the maritime boundary with India, a move designed to assert Pakistan’s operational preparedness and stance on the contentious Sir Creek issue. Meanwhile, India-Pakistan Panjab border has become the new frontline for drone warfare. As of 13 Oct 2025, the Border Security Force (BSF) intercepted 200 drones carrying 174 weapons, 12 hand grenades, and over 10 kg of explosives. The trend shows a rapid escalation: 294 drones were recovered in 2024, 119 in 2023, 22 in 2022, one in 2021, seven in 2020, and two in 2019. Concurrently, India has restored the status of its Technical Mission in Kabul to a full-fledged embassy, signalling renewed diplomatic engagement with Afghanistan. During Taliban leader and Afghanistan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi visit to India, when a delegation comprising Afghan Sikhs and Hindus met him, he said they were most welcome to return and restart their businesses. However, a member of Afghan Minorities Council who led the delegation, Guljeet Singh, said 'there’s no point of return now.' The delegation raised several demands including the safety of their Gurdwaras and Temples, freeing their personal properties from encroachers, and grant of multiple entry and exit visas from both India and Afghanistan, among others (earlier coverage).