Fayaz Bukhari
SRINAGAR, June 14: Defence Minister, Arun Jaitley, today discussed the security situation inside the State and along the borders with Pakistan and China with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Governor NN Vohra and senior Army Commanders before taking special review meeting tomorrow.
Earlier in the morning, Jaitley accompanied by the Army Chief General Bikram Singh arrived in Srinagar for two day visit to Kashmir for the first time since he took over as the Defence Minister.
On arrival, the Defence Minister was received by Northern Army Commander, Lt Gen DS Hooda and Chinar Corps Commander, Lt Gen Gurmit Singh.
Defence Minister met Chief Minister Omar Abdullah this afternoon here and discussed security scenario of the State and also raised certain financial issues with the Jaitley, who is also Finance Minister of the country.
An official spokesman said that during the meeting which lasted for over an hour, the two leaders also discussed the current situation on Line of Control (LoC) and borders.
Chief Minister also discussed the preparedness of the State Government to conduct Amarnath Yatra that commences by the end of this month.
The spokesman said that Omar shared with certain critical financial matters relating to the development plan of Jammu and Kashmir. “Aspects regarding skill development initiatives taken by the State Government also came up for the discussion”, the spokesman said.
Defence Minister also visited Raj Bhavan to meet Governor N N Vohra. They discussed various issues relating to the rapid growth and development of the State. Later in the day, the Governor and the Defence Minister held discussions with General Bikram Singh, Lt Gen D S Hooda, and Lt Gen Gurmit Singh on the internal security situation prevalent in the State and on the borders with Pakistan and China.
Earlier soon after his arrival, Jaitley visited Headquarters of Chinar Corps at Badami Bagh Cantonment in Srinagar where senior Army officers briefed him on the overall security situation in the State including the Counter Infiltration grid along the Line of Control and Counter Terrorism grid in the hinterland.
Sources said that the Defence Minister was briefed about the security situation along the LoC and International border with Pakistan and Line of Actual Control with China. The Minister was briefed about the infiltration attempts by militants from Pakistan occupied Kashmir into Jammu and Kashmir and the occasional intrusion by the People’s Liberation Army in the Ladakh area of the State.
The Minister was briefed about the counter-infiltration grid along the LoC that is aimed at preventing the infiltration of militants into the State. He was briefed about the effectiveness of the border fence and other devices put in place at the LoC to prevent the infiltration. He was also told about the decline of infiltration of militants from the PoK into Jammu and Kashmir due to the fence and other counter-infiltration devices installed along the LoC.
Sources said that Jaitley was also briefed about the recent infiltration attempts by militants and ceasefire violations by Pakistani troops in Rajouri and Poonch sectors of the LoC.
Sources said that the Minister was informed about the militant plans for infiltration into Jammu and Kashmir during this summer ahead of elections and counter strategy adopted by Army. “He was told that large number of militants of the Lashkar-e-Toiba, Al Badar, Hizbul Mujahideen and the Jaish-e-Mohammad, are waiting at launch pads in the PoK near the LoC to infiltrate into Jammu and Kashmir but Army is alert to foil their designs”, sources said.
The Defence Minister was briefed about the operations conducted by the security forces in the hinterland and successes they achieved in eliminating top commanders of the militant organizations over past one year.
Sources said that Jaitley was briefed about the border mechanism adopted by the Army along the LAC in Ladakh where PLA has been making frequent intrusions into Indian Territory.
Sources said that the Minister expressed satisfaction over the alertness of troops along the borders and in the hinterland and commended the role of Army in dealing with the militancy and threats from across the borders.
Jailtey is scheduled to visit the forward areas along the LoC where he will interact with commanders and troops on the ground. He will be briefed about the counter-infiltration grid and militant plans of infiltration and counter measures adopted by the army on the LoC.
The Minister will attend Special Security Review Meeting at Srinagar before leaving for New Delhi. He is likely to brief the media.
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