In Jammu and Kashmir, security forces have intensified checking and monitoring across high-influx areas, including venues hosting parties, as part of a maximum alert to ensure safe New Year celebrations.

Additional checkpoints have been deployed at entry points, plugging every major road connectivity with enhanced patrols, area domination exercises, and surprise verifications to thwart any potential threats during the festive season.

Amid these measures, multiple suspicious recoveries were reported in forward and border districts. Acting on specific intelligence, the Special Operations Group (SOG) of Jammu and Kashmir Police have recovered an unidentified drone abandoned in an open field at Gohled village in Mendhar sector of Poonch district.

A police team promptly secured the site, seized the device, and initiated an investigation to determine its origin and possible operator. Separately, during search operations in the Chennai area of Udhampur district, security forces recovered a magazine of an AK assault rifle along with seven live rounds from an open field in Sudhmahadev.

In Akhnoor sector of Jammu district an aircraft-shaped balloon bearing markings of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) in English and Urdu was seized from an agricultural field in border village Gurah Manhasa, Pragwal area. These incidents underscore the heightened vigilance along the Line of Control (LoC) and International Border (IB), with increased deployments and anti-sabotage checks in urban and hinterland areas. Authorities have appealed to citizens to stay vigilant and immediately report any suspicious objects or activities to the nearest police station for swift action.