Home Minister Amit Shah likely to review J&K situation on Thursday

NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday is likely to review the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir, the first such meeting after the last assembly elections held in September-October, sources said.

Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, top officers of the Army, paramilitary forces, J&K administration, intelligence agencies and Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) are expected to attend the meeting.

“The home minister will review the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir. He will be briefed about the prevailing situation in the Union Territory (UT) and the situation along the border areas,” sources said.

This will be Shah’s first meeting after the assembly elections conducted in the UT where a National Conference (NC) government, headed by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah assumed charge.

After the abrogation of the Article 370 and bifurcation of the erstwhile state into two UTs in 2019, the law and order is the direct responsibility of the central government.

The home minister is likely to have a detailed discussion on the security roadmap ahead for the 2025, the sources said.

Sporadic incidents have been continuing in Jammu and Kashmir. On October 20, seven people were killed in a terror attack in central Kashmir. Before that, there were attacks on outsiders working in Kashmir.

The meeting is expected to take note of recent terror incidents and possible steps to be taken on how to stop such attacks in the coming days, the sources said.

According to official data, 142 terrorists were killed in J&K in 2019 and the number is around 45 so far this year.

Fifty civilians were killed in 2019 in the UT while the figure came down to 14 by the first week of November this year. (PTI)