Jammu Kashmir
Jammu Kashmir terror attacks: Home Minister Amit Shah holds high-level meeting over security situation ahead of Amarnath Yatra
New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah presided over a high-level meeting in Delhi on Sunday to assess the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir following recent terror attacks, media reports said.
Shah was expected to provide broad directives to enhance counter-terror operations during the meeting, reported news agency PTI.
The meeting was attended by National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Manoj Sinha, Army Chief General Manoj Pande, Army Chief-designate Lt. General Upendra Dwivedi, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla, Director of Intelligence Bureau Tapan Deka, Director General of CRPF Anish Dayal Singh, Director General of Jammu and Kashmir Police RR Swain, and other senior security officials.
The Home Minister will also review preparations for the annual Amarnath pilgrimage, which is scheduled to commence on June 29.
According to PTI, Shah is expected to be briefed on the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir, force deployments along the International Border and Line of Control, infiltration attempts, ongoing anti-terror operations, and the number of terrorists active in the Union Territory.
Over the past week, terrorists targeted four locations in Reasi, Kathua, and Doda districts of Jammu and Kashmir, resulting in the deaths of nine pilgrims and a CRPF jawan, and injuring seven security personnel and several others.
In Kathua district, security forces killed two suspected Pakistani terrorists and recovered a large cache of arms and ammunition from them.
These incidents come just before the annual Amarnath pilgrimage to the cave shrine in the south Kashmir Himalayas, which will run from June 29 to August 19.
Pilgrims travel via two routes -- Baltal and Pahalgam -- in Jammu and Kashmir.
Last year, over 428,000 people visited the cave shrine, and this number could rise to 500,000 this year, the news agency said.
All pilgrims will be issued RFID cards for real-time tracking, and each will receive Rs 5 lakh in insurance coverage. Further, each animal carrying pilgrims will be insured for Rs 50,000.
Shah is expected to lay emphasis on ensuring smooth arrangements from the airport and railway station to the pilgrimage base camp, as well as proper security for all pilgrims.
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