STATE TIMES NEWS
Srinagar: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday assured of positive outcomes on issues of opening of more LoC routes for trade and business in the coming days.
The assurance was given at a high-level meeting held here and attended by Governor N N Vohra, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti besides others, an official statement said.
The meeting deliberated upon the strategic issues pertaining to situation in the state with particular reference to development projects of the state.
Singh asked the BSF and the Army to step up the vigil at the International Border and the LoC, so that the evil designs of the enemy could be frustrated, the release said. The Home Minister also assured giving permission to foreigners to visit Ladakh including Nubra valley, quick resolution of land related issues, increasing ex gratia payment to families of martyred J&K police personnel at par with the Central Forces and restarting the police modernisation.
Singh, who is on a two-day visit to state, asked the agencies to ensure fool proof security in the state, with primacy being to protecting the life and property of civilians. The state government expressed its confidence of maintaining security in the State, including during the ongoing Amarnath Yatra.
Singh expressed satisfaction over the performance of the State Government as well as the Security Forces and complimented them for excellent ground coordination and synergy.
The Home Minister also instructed the CRPF and BSF to explore the possibility of conducting special recruitment drives in Jammu and Kashmir, it said.
The Home Minister will visit the cave shrine of Amarnath tomorrow.
Earlier, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh chaired a high level meeting here to review the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of recent spurt in militant attacks including the deadly Pampore strike.
The review meeting, in which Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti was present, comes a day ahead of the start of Amarnath Yatra. Top civil administration and security officials of the state were also present in the meeting, officials said.
During the hour-long meeting, the Union Home Minister was briefed about the security situation in the state, particularly in the backdrop of the recent spurt in militancy-related incidents in the valley, the officials said.
The officials said the Home Minister was briefed about the steps taken for ensuring incident-free Amarnath Yatra which will begin from on Saturday.
The first batch of pilgrims left from Jammu this morning and arrived at the base camps of Pahalgam in Anantnag and Baltal in Ganderbal districts.
Chief Secretary B R Sharma, Director General of Police K Rajendra Kumar, top officials from the army, CRPF, BSF and intelligence agencies were also present in the meeting. PTI
