G20 meet, Amarnath yatra, border security on agenda
LG, top officials to brief HM on situation
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 12: The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) today held preliminary round of review of security scenario in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir ahead of tomorrow’s crucial meeting on the issue by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi.
Shah will review various aspects of security scenario and development works in Jammu and Kashmir in a meeting at North Block tomorrow afternoon.
Excelsior had today exclusively reported that back-to-back meetings are scheduled to be held in the MHA on Jammu and Kashmir situation on April 12 and 13.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, Union Home Secretary AK Bhalla, Chief Secretary Dr Arun Kumar Mehta, Home Secretary RK Goyal, Director General of Police (DGP) Dilbag Singh and DG CID Rashmi Ranjan Swain will be present at tomorrow’s meeting to be chaired by Shah. They will give detailed briefing to Shah on various aspects of situation in the Union Territory.
Today’s meeting was also attended by senior officers of civil and police administration from Jammu and Kashmir some of whom reached New Delhi yesterday while others landed this morning.
“Today’s meeting discussed the host of issues pertaining to Jammu and Kashmir especially upcoming G20 meeting from May 22-25, annual pilgrimage of Shri Amarnath Ji shrine, security arrangements for tourist season, anti-militancy operations and strengthening of Border Security Grid,” sources said, adding threadbare discussion will be held on these issues in the meeting to be chaired by Amit Shah tomorrow.
Today’s meeting at the MHA lasted one and a half hour.
A detailed strategy will be chalked out to ensure peaceful G20 meeting in Srinagar which is first major international event in Jammu and Kashmir post abrogation of special status of erstwhile State and its bifurcation into two Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh.
Sources said senior officers of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and Intelligence agencies will also attend tomorrow’s meeting besides senior MHA officers dealing with Jammu and Kashmir.
“Ongoing development works will also come up for review in tomorrow’s meeting,” sources said, adding the Union Home Ministry has been focusing a lot on development of the Union Territory and Jammu and Kashmir was allocated Rs 1.18 lakh crore worth budget for 2023-24 last month.
Specialized Force and anti-drone technology from New Delhi will be deployed in Srinagar and tourist places where G20 delegates will visit. Additional paramilitary forces from within the Union Territory will also be relocated and deployed in Srinagar, Gulmarg and other vulnerable areas to ensure peaceful meeting.
As additional paramilitary forces for annual pilgrimage of Shri Amarnath Ji yatra also start reaching Jammu and Kashmir early June, some of the companies could reach in advance for deployment during G20 meeting. However, a decision on this will be taken at the high-level meeting over next two days, sources said.
The Intelligence agencies have reports that the militants and their mentors sitting in Pakistan are badly frustrated due to elimination of militants especially their top commanders and their inability to strike in the Valley. In such a situation, the militants could strike at soft targets ahead of G20 meeting, which is a major international event in the Valley, they added and said all these issues will figure in the Home Ministry’s meeting.
The Intelligence agencies are of the view that there is also little presence of militants in some districts of the Jammu region and they could also strike there just for the sake of making a news ahead of G20 meeting. Worthwhile to mention here that two Pakistani militants involved in carnage of seven members of minority community, two of them minors, at Dhangri in Rajouri district remained untraced even after more than three months of the killings.
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