Rajnath reviews security situation with top brass
Security Grid to be further strengthened
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Aug 14: As encounters surged in different upper reaches of Jammu region, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh today reviewed security situation in Jammu and Kashmir with top brass of security agencies with a view to devise strategy to eliminate the terrorists hiding in different mountains and prevent infiltration from across the borders.
National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, Army chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi, Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane, Director General of Military Operations (DGMOs) Lt Gen Pratik Sharma, Intelligence Bureau (IB) Director Tapan Deka and heads of various other security agencies attended the meeting held in the Union capital.
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During past one week, security forces have established contact with terrorists at four places including twice in Basantgarh area of Udhampur district, Peyasa in Kishtwar and Shivgarh-Assar in Doda in which an Army Captain was martyred and a terrorist was killed.
The high-level meeting was held a day ahead of the Independence Day.
Senior officers gave detailed feedback on the situation including number of the foreign terrorists who have sneaked into the Jammu region over past sometime, their movement from one place to another with the help of local guides and operations launched by Army along with paramilitary forces and Jammu and Kashmir Police to eliminate them.
The Defence Minister is reported to have asked the Army for stricter Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and calibrated action against the terrorists.
He issued instructions to further strengthen the Security Grid in Jammu and Kashmir and underlined the need for improving coordination among various security and intelligence agencies, sources said.
The meeting also focused on enhancing security apparatus in Jammu as the region faced a number of terror attacks in the recent months.
The Government is committed to root out terrorism from Jammu and Kashmir, the meeting observed.
Infiltration of the terrorists from Pakistan which is also a major issue is understood to have come up for a review. It is being investigated by the security agencies as to how the terrorists are sneaking from the borders and then guided to the mountains from where they shift to upper reaches of Kathua, Udhampur, Doda and Kishtwar besides Pir Panjal range in Rajouri and Poonch districts.
The Defence Minister is reported to have been briefed on various aspects of the situation including anti-terror and anti-infiltration operations by the security forces along Line of Control (LoC) and International Border (IB).
A day before, Jammu police busted a module with the arrest of nine terror associates who used to guide the terrorists to mountains after their infiltration from Samba-Kathua sector. There have been reports of infiltration of the terrorists from the International Border in Jammu and Punjab and their subsequent movement towards the mountains with the help of guides.
Recently, the Army had moved over 3000 soldiers to upper reaches of Jammu region to intensify operations against the terrorists. Two thousand Assam Rifle jawans are also being deployed in the region while the Home Ministry has deputed 2000 more BSF jawans to the International Border to plug the infiltration routes.
Army, paramilitary forces and JKP have also set up permanent pickets in the upper reaches to take on the terrorists and boost morale of the locals. The Village Defence Guards (VDGs) are also being equipped with semi-automatic weapons.
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