Abid Bashir
Srinagar, Jan 2: Union Home Minister Amit Shah Tuesday chaired a high-level security meeting in New Delhi where a series of directions were passed to meet emerging security related challenges in Jammu and Kashmir. The recent attacks in Rajouri-Poonch belt of J&K where army faced casualties, dominated the session after which a counter-strategy was devised for immediate implementation on ground zero.
Reliable sources said that the meeting chaired by the Union Home Minister in Delhi in which top officials of MHA participated. National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, Army Chief Manoj Pande, J&K LG Manoj Sinha, Chief Secretary Atal Duloo, DGP RR Swain, ADGP L&O Vijay Kumar participated. Top officials from the National Investigating Agency and Intelligence Bureau also participated in the meeting.
A source privy to the meeting, revealed that the meeting aimed to assess the effectiveness of the security grid and address various security related aspects in response to the recent attacks in Rajouri-Poonch districts of Jammu. “The recent attacks on the army that saw killing of four soldiers and injuries to two and past attacks in Rajouri-Poonch belt where almost 26 soldiers sacrificed their lives, dominated the most part of the session,” the source said. “A counter-strategy was discussed and fine-tuned for immediate implementation on ground-zero.” Sources said that a “joint security plan” was discussed and finalised in the meeting in Delhi to which the Home Minister gave a go ahead. The plan, as per sources, will be implemented on ground zero in Rajouri-Poonch belt immediately.
The source said that during the meeting, Home Minister Shah while reiterating the zero-tolerance for terror-activities in J&K, directed the heads of various security agencies for achieving complete area domination and fostering improved coordination among police, army and central forces in J&K. “The Home Minister, while recognising the urgency of the situation, stressed on the imperative to bolster and fortify local intelligence networks within the UT,” he said, as per KNO. “The Home Minister stressed the need for complete area domination directing the security agencies for enhanced collaboration to counter emerging threats effectively.”
It may be recalled that the recent attacks on the army at Poonch had forced Army Chief Manoj Pandey and Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to visit the incident site. Soon after the attack that saw the killing of four soldiers and injuries to two others, three civilians had allegedly died in army custody. The Union Defence Minister had visited the families of slain civilians and assured them that justice will be delivered. The army has already ordered a high level probe into the civilian killings.
J&K DGP Swain recently stated that there was a security situation at Rajouri-Poonch but asserted that “police and security forces will effectively deal with it.” He also stated that foreign terrorists operating in Rajouri-Poonch were not hiding in houses and instead they prefer caves and wilderness.
Sources said that the Home Minister stressed for effective implementation of “Zero Terror Plan” that is aimed to be completed in 2026. While reiterating his commitment for “zero tolerance for terrorism”, Shah, as per sources, hailed the J&K security agencies for a significant improvement in Law and Order situation, significant dip in infiltration from across and a drastic decline in terrorism related incidents in J&K. He, however, called for refining the security strategies to tackle evolving challenges. The Union Home Minister also sought feedback from the heads of security agencies about the preparations with regard to the upcoming Lok Sabha polls slated for March-April this year.
