Home Minister reviews J&K situation, development
Home Secy, CRPF DG devise fresh strategy
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, June 13: A day after deadly terror attack, Union Home Minister and BJP national president Amit Shah today held high-level review of security and political situation, arrangements for annual pilgrimage of Shri Amarnath Ji, development scenario in Jammu and Kashmir and ceasefire violations on the borders with top brass of BJP in New Delhi.
The half an hour long meeting of Shah with the BJP leaders, Incharge Jammu and Kashmir and State unit functionaries was held this evening on the sidelines of two-day meeting of State presidents and general secretaries among others in New Delhi.
BJP national general secretary Ram Lal, another general secretary and party’s pointman on Jammu and Kashmir Ram Madhav, BJP national vice president Avinash Rai Khanna, State BJP chief Ravinder Raina and organizing secretary Ashok Koul were present at the meeting.
Insiders said Amit Shah was focused on the annual pilgrimage of Shri Amarnath Ji, which will start on July 1 and last 46 days till August 15, especially in the wake of yesterday’s terror attack at Anantnag in which five CRPF personnel were martyred and three others injured.
Apart from yatra, internal security situation in Jammu and Kashmir, ceasefire violations on the Line of Control (LoC) and International Border (IB) with Pakistan and development works in the State were reviewed.
Shah assured the BJP leaders that the Union Home Ministry would make best possible security arrangements for Shri Amarnath Ji pilgrims to make the yatra smooth and secure as yatris from all over the country will throng South Kashmir Himalayas for darshan of holy Ice Lingam of Lord Shiva in the cave shrine, the BJP leaders present at the meeting said.
However, according to insiders, the Assembly elections didn’t figure in the meeting as Shah proposed to hold a separate meeting for this in which other senior leaders from Jammu and Kashmir will also be invited.
The State BJP unit invited Amit Shah to address a grand rally in Jammu on June 23, which is being organized on the martyr day of Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, the ideologue of Jan Sangh. Shah is reported to have said that he would convey his decision later.
Earlier in the day, Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba reviewed security situation in the Kashmir valley and arrangements for upcoming annual pilgrimage of Shri Amarnath Ji in South Kashmir Himalayas in New Delhi with Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Director General RR Bhatnagar and other top officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Apart from yesterday’s terror attack that left five CRPF personnel martyred and three others injured, sources said, arrangements for the annual Amarnath Ji pilgrimage, which starts on July 1 for 46 days, came up for very high-level review as the militant strike, which is being attributed to Jaish-e-Mohammed outfit though Al-Umar has claimed responsibility for it, was seen as an attempt by the militants to spread terror ahead of the yatra.
Nunwan Pahalgam in Anantnag district serves as base camp for the annual pilgrimage of Shri Amarnath Ji shrine and is traditional and ancient route of the yatra though pilgrims also prefer Baltal route these days as it was tough but quite shorter than Pahalgam.
“The MHA has devised strategy to ensure fool-proof security arrangements for the annual pilgrimage,” sources said, adding that the Union Home Secretary was understood to have again reviewed the security measures for the pilgrims and decided to deploy more para-military companies if required along the twin yatra tracks of Chandanwari and Baltal, base camps at Nunwan, Baltal and Jammu and National Highways from Pathankot to Srinagar.
While 300 additional companies of para-military forces were already stationed in the State after conduct of Lok Sabha elections for deployment on yatra duty, there were reports that the Union Home Ministry has dispatched nearly 150 more companies for the pilgrimage and assured that if required even more troops can be sent to the State after yesterday’s terror attack in Anantnag.
Sources said the terror attack was significant as it was done at Anantnag, the base camp of Shri Amarnath Ji shrine and the target was CRPF personnel, who are primarily deployed on yatra duty, in addition to Army, Jammu and Kashmir Police and Jammu and Kashmir Armed Police.
However, they were of the view that the terror attack took place before deployment of the CRPF on yatra duty but despite that the CRPF personnel retaliated bravely and gunned down one of the terrorists along with other security agencies while another managed to escape. Moreover, they said, the para-military personnel exercised extreme restraint to avert collateral damage.
The Union Home Secretary, who is expected to visit Kashmir for on spot review of Shri Amarnath Ji yatra arrangements shortly, is reported to have directed for starting induction of para-military forces for yatra duty well ahead of start of the yatra so that the tracks and base camps are sanitized to prevent any kind of threat to the pilgrims.
“The Quick Reaction Teams (QRTs) are also being deployed at various places on the base camps, yatra tracks and National Highways to meet with any eventuality,” sources pointed out.
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