Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday chaired a high-level security review meeting on Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of a series of targeted killings in the Union Territory.
Present security arrangements, as well as the preparedness for Amarnath Yatra, were discussed in the marathon meeting which lasted for about three hours, said official sources.
In the first session, the Home Minister took stock of security situations in the Valley while the second session of the meeting was linked to the preparedness for Amarnath Yatra as the annual pilgrimage is all set to start on June 30 after a gap of two years.
The meeting, which began around 3 pm, continued till 6 pm in two sessions in the presence of National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Army Chief Manoj Pande, Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla, Jammu and Kashmir and Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha.
Director-General of Central Reserve Police Force Kuldeep Singh and Border Security Force chief Pankaj Singh, Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police Dilbagh Singh among other key officials took part in the meeting.
The meeting came after terrorists carried out a series of targeted killings in the Kashmir Valley that include non-Muslims, security personnel, an artist and local civilians.
The meeting was called as two civilians and three security personnel were killed only in the month of May that including Kashmiri Hindus. Kashmiri Pandits in Jammu and Kashmir are holding protests in Srinagar against the killings by terrorists.
Two persons a bank employee and a brick kiln labourer were killed in Kashmir on Thursday while another labourer was injured in two separate incidents.
The terrorists killed one labourer and injured another in an attack in Magraypora village and the Chadoora area of Budgam in Jammu and Kashmir.
A 36-year-old migrant Kashmiri Pandit and high school teacher Rajni Bala was shot dead by terrorists in the Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday.
Earlier this month, two civilians - including Kashmiri Pandit employee Rahul Bhat -- and three off-duty policemen were killed in Kashmir by the terrorists.
These deaths follow a series of killings that have been happening since August 5, 2019, the day when the Union government stripped Jammu and Kashmir of its special status and downgraded it to Union territory while simultaneously bifurcating the region into J-K and Ladakh UTs.
Shah on May 17 also reviewed the security preparedness for the Amarnath Yatra which is a challenging task as Jammu and Kashmir have witnessed several incidences of targeted killings in the last few months by terrorists following which the Ministry of Home Affairs asked security agencies operating in Jammu and Kashmir to enhance counter-terror operations.
However, online registration for Amarnath Yatra 2022 started on April 11 and the Home Ministry has already sanctioned nearly 50 companies of CAPF for the purpose to provide security during the pilgrimage as Jammu and Kashmir is expecting nearly three lakh pilgrims visiting the Amarnath cave shrine this year.
While online registration has already begun, the pilgrimage is scheduled to be held for 43 days between June 30 and August 11.
The Amarnath shrine pilgrimage to the 3,880-metre-high cave shrine of Lord Shiva, located in the upper reaches of the Himalayas, is held from the twin routes of Pahalgam and Baltal.
The Jammu and Kashmir government had cancelled the annual Amarnath pilgrimage due to the prevailing Covid-19 situation in 2020 and 2021 after a discussion with Amarnathji Shrine Board members.
( With inputs from ANI )
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