‘Earlier J&K students used to study abroad’
Terror-dominated areas drastically down in UT
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Jan 20: Union Home Minister Amit Shah today said after abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, 32,000 children from other parts of the country are studying in the Union Territory though there was a time when students from erstwhile State used to go to study abroad because of the militancy.
“There was a time when children from Jammu and Kashmir used to go to study in other parts of the country and abroad due to militancy. But today, 32,000 children from other parts of the country are studying in Jammu and Kashmir,” Shah said addressing annual conference of DGPs and IGPs besides heads of paramilitary forces in New Delhi, organized by the MHA and IB.
He said the amount of investment that has come in the last four years is more than what it had come to Jammu and Kashmir in the last 70 years.
Shah said, “In Jammu and Kashmir, terror incidents, deaths and terrorist-dominated areas have drastically diminished”.
“Today, we can say that Jammu and Kashmir is slowly heading towards peace and stability,” he said.
The Home Minister said a record tourist footfall in Jammu and Kashmir was recorded last year.
The number of tourists who visited the Union Territory was 1.80 crore, which shows that the entire nation is convinced that peace is returning to the region, he said.
“I congratulate the Jammu and Kashmir Police, CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force), BSF (Border Security Force), IB (Intelligence Bureau) and RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) as their efforts are slowly bearing fruit,” the Minister said.
“Under the leadership of Modi, Indian security agencies have succeeded in establishing their supremacy. Today, no one can ignore India in any field, nor anyone can stop you from moving forward,” the Home Minister said, as per an official statement released tonight.
Shah said earlier the country’s problems were geographical but now they are becoming thematic, and for this security agencies have to bring about a paradigm shift in their strategy and approach.
“Earlier we had single dimensional problems, but now the problems are multi-dimensional. To deal with them, we have to be two steps ahead of those who commit crimes. We have to change the method of urban policing rapidly. Even on capacity building of the police, a lot of attention has to be paid,” he said.
Shah said to make internal security impenetrable, the police have to be empowered and the Modi Government and the Home Ministry will fully cooperate with States.
He said India is now definitely safe, strong and on a good footing under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Modi will attend the All India Conference of Director Generals and Inspector Generals of Police being held at the National Agricultural Science Complex.
“Since 2014, the Prime Minister has taken a keen interest in the DGP conference. Unlike the symbolic presence of Prime Ministers earlier, he sits through all major sessions of the conference,” it said.
The Prime Minister not only listens patiently to all the inputs, but also encourages free and informal discussions so that new ideas can come up, a release issued by the PMO said.
This provides a congenial atmosphere for the top police officials of the country to directly brief the Prime Minister on key policing and internal security issues, and give open and frank recommendations, it said.
The release said guided by the vision of the Prime Minister, the conference has started discussions on futuristic themes in policing and security.
On the first day of the conference, the Home Minister also distributed police medal for meritorious service and gave trophies to the top three police stations of the country.
Topics such as security challenges along the land borders with Nepal and Myanmar, strategies to identify overstaying foreigners in India and targeting of Maoist strongholds were discussed, officials said.
Over the next two days, the top police leadership of the country will deliberate on emerging security challenges and opportunities along with experts, field functionaries and academia.
A host of issues including internal security terrorism with special reference to Jammu and Kashmir, drug and drone threats and strategy to counter them are also likely to come up for discussions during the conference.
While a host of issues are on the agenda, drugs and drones will be discussed extensively and measures to counter their menace further will be debated. While the Union Home Ministry has already initiated series of measures to counter drug menace, but drone activities especially in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab remained a major challenge.
“A strategy to counter drone activities along the International Border in Jammu, Samba and Kathua districts in Jammu region and border districts of Punjab will be discussed at the high-level meeting,” sources said, adding top organizations are in the process of developing devices to detect and bring down the drones.
Arms, explosives, cash and narcotics are being smuggled to Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab from Pakistan by the militants and their commanders from different outfits with the help of Pakistan army and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) for causing subversive activities in the two neighbouring State/UT.
“A number of drones have been shot down by the BSF in Jammu region as well as in Punjab and attempts to drop weaponry and narcotics through flying machines have been foiled. However, some successful sorties by the drones are not ruled out,” sources said.
They added that cyber and internal security, terrorism, situation in Jammu and Kashmir, border management, threats from across the border and maritime security are also part of agenda of three days conference of police and paramilitary officials. Besides threats from Khalistani extremists, danger to the economy, crypto currencies, Maoist violence and northeast insurgency are other issues which may come up for discussion.
“The police and Intelligence heads will give their detailed assessment of situation in their respective State/UT at the conference for detailed analysis and working out a solution,” sources said.
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