Pak pushing arms and drugs amidst farm stir: Punjab CM

Cross-border smuggling of weapons by Pakistan has increased since the farmers' agitation began, he said, adding that this could cause disturbance in the Punjab, a border state, even as he demanded a thorough probe into the matter.

The chief minister’s remarks come at a time when protesters demanding repeal of the three farm laws, fought with police using swords on Republic Day, in what is seen as testing the government’s resolve to fight anti-national elements within the country. 

The Punjab chief minister said he has inputs from the security forces that more and more illegal drugs and weapons are being pushed into India from across the border and that he feels there's a deep conspiracy behind it that needs to be probed, according to a report in Times Now television channel. 

Amarinder Singh said he has been warning the central government for a long time that "Pakistan is trying to infiltrate". He further warned the authorities saying that Pakistan has sleeper cells which they can activate as a "a disturbed Punjab suits Pakistan's policy". 

While the Indian security forces are engaged in thwarting Pakistan’s bid to smuggle weapons into J&K, Rawalpindi is trying to spread vio;ence into more border states.

"I have a hostile country on my western border. On the north of us, we have China. These two countries are going to collude. About 20 per cent of the Indian army belongs to this area and we can't allow their morale to go down. I think we should be cautious in our choice of putting out news which should not create a situation where the morale of our troops goes down," Punjab CM told news agency ANI.

Amarinder Singh said Pakistan has been sending weapons through drones and is also trying to cause infiltration. There has been a spurt in "drone delivery" since the farmers' agitation started and "weapons, money, and heroine" have been coming in, he added.

The chief minister said he met the union home minister Amit Shah in November after the farmers' agitation moved to Delhi borders to convey his concerns about Pakistan's attempts to cause  disturbance.

"I went to see the home minister when everyone started making big news about farmers' struggle to discuss the issue that has taken place. Since the farmers' struggle started in October, the number of weaponry that is coming to Punjab (from Pakistan) has increased. It is drones that are bringing it in. That was what was concerning me because those drones that bring weapons are meant for something. They are not sent as a present here. We may capture 30 drones, but there are 20-30 that may get past us, to their objectives," he said.