Top officials brief HM on anti-terror operations in J&K
*Focus on hilly areas of Jammu region, infiltration
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU. Feb 4: Union Home Minister Amit Shah today held high-level review of security situation in Jammu and Kashmir for over two hours in North Block but the meeting remained inconclusive and will be held again tomorrow morning.
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Today’s meeting lasted two hours from 2.30 pm to 4.30 pm and couldn’t be completed as Shah had to leave for Parliament to join Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reply in Lok Sabha on Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address.
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“Anti-infiltration measures like strengthening of Counter-Infiltration Grid and steps required to completely plug all intrusion routes on the Line of Control (LoC) as well as International Border (IB) and other security related issues pertaining to the Army and BSF figured in today’s meeting,” sources told the Excelsior.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, top officials from MHA including Home Secretary Govind Mohan, Army chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi, heads of paramilitary forces and Intelligence agencies from the Centre attended the meeting. Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo, Home Secretary Chandraker Bharti, Director General of Police (DGP) Nalin Prabhat, Intelligence chief Nitish Kumar, IGP Jammu Bhim Sen Tuti and IGP Kashmir VK Birdi also represented J&K among others.
The meeting, as per the sources, remained inconclusive and will be held again at 11 AM tomorrow to take up all issues pertaining to Jammu and Kashmir including security situation, making the UT free of terrorism and its ecosystem and progress of development works including the Centrally Sponsored Schemes.
Security officials are understood to have given detailed briefing to the Union Home Minister on various aspects of security situation in Jammu and Kashmir including follow up measures on the decisions taken in last security review meeting on the UT chaired by Shah in the Union capital on December 19, 2024.
“Focus remained on parts of Jammu region where there has been presence of terrorists, mainly the Pakistanis, and where they struck last year targeting security forces, pilgrims and Village Defence Guards (VDGs). A direction has gone from the MHA to security forces to intensify search operations in the upper reaches to eliminate the terrorists before they could strike again,” the sources said.
While exact number of the terrorists hiding in mountains of Pir Panjal, erstwhile Doda district and other areas of the Jammu region is anybody’s guess, the Home Minister is reported to have directed to ensure that the terrorists are eliminated at the earliest. Army, Jammu and Kashmir Police, paramilitary forces and Special Operations Group (SOG) have already strengthened their positions in the hilly areas.
Anti-terror operations in Kashmir also figured at the meeting where number of terrorists and their commanders have been killed but focus was on to keep the Valley terror-free by targeting remaining terrorists, upper ground network and hybrid militants engaged in targeted killings.
Shah is reported to have stressed on ensuring zero infiltration from the LoC as well as IB as such attempts could be made early in view of less snowfall this winter in Jammu and Kashmir and passes could open shortly.
During the last review meeting on December 19, 2024, Shah had directed all security agencies to continue working in a coordinated manner to eliminate terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Government has maintained that there is a significant decline in terrorist incidents, infiltration and recruitment of youth in terrorist organisations.
The security forces last week launched a massive operation in Jammu and Kashmir, mostly in the higher reaches and forest areas along the Line of Control, to locate and eliminate the terrorists who carried out multiple attacks in different districts last year.
Areas such as Reasi, Doda, Kishtwar, Kathua, Jammu and Rajouri have seen increased terror activity in the last couple of years.
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