Home Minister Amit Shah reviews security situation in JK

New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday reviewed the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir, where five soldiers were killed by terrorists in an ambush in Poonch district a fortnight ago.

A day after the December 21 terror attack, three civilians, aged between 27 and 42, were found dead after they were allegedly picked up by the Army for questioning, sparking outrage. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Army chief Pande had visited Poonch in the wake of these incidents.

Officials said Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Manoj Sinha, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, Chief of Army staff (CoAS) General Manoj Pande and top officials of intelligence and other security agencies attended the meeting on Tuesday.

Shah asked the security agencies to make adequate security arrangements during the G20 event, officials said. India’s plans to hold G20 youth engagement group meetings in Leh and Srinagar and a G20 tourism working group meeting in Srinagar during May 22-24.

A statement issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said: “Union home minister reviewed the functioning of the security grid and various aspects related to security. He reiterated that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the government of India is committed to zero tolerance against terrorism.”

Shah, the MHA said, also reviewed the area domination plan, zero terror plan, law and order situation, cases related to the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), and other security-related issues.

“Home minister appreciated the efforts of the security agencies and administration of the J&K for a substantial reduction in cross border infiltration and improvement in law & order and also advised to strengthen the routine policing,” it added.

The ministry further said Shah also reviewed the preparation of the G-20 meeting which is scheduled to be held in Srinagar in May 2023 and asked all agencies to work in a coordinated manner for the successful conduct of the event.

On April 6, Dilbag Singh said militancy has not ended in Jammu and Kashmir yet, but it is on the wane as the number of ultras has declined to an all-time low. He said local youths, pushed towards militancy, have now returned to the mainstream after leaving that path.

An improvised explosive device explosion was reported on March 30 in Kathua district creating a huge crater in the ground.

Earlier, in 2021 and 2022, there were several targeted killings in the union territory.

According to the data shared by the government in the parliament in February this year, 125 terror incidents were reported in J&K in 2022, which was the lowest in the last five years. 129 terror incidents were recorded in 2021, 126 in 2020, 153 in 2019 and 228 in 2018.

The number of civilians killed in these incidents has also come down from 39 in 2018 to 30 last year and causalities of security personnel have come down from 91 to 31.

Five Kashmiri Pandits and 16 other Hindus and Sikhs were killed by terrorists in the UT since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 till July 2022.