In the wake of the prevailing state of tension in Jammu and Kashmir, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Northern Command, Lt Gen Ranbir Singh on Tuesday chaired a meeting of the Core Group of Intelligence and Security agencies in Srinagar to review their operational readiness in the face of any contingency.
Singh said that “necessary security arrangements have been put in place for ensuring peace and security” in the Valley.
The Army Commander highlighted that during the past few days, Pakistan had intensified its efforts at increasing the strength of terrorists in launch pads along the Line of Control, pushing infiltrators across the LoC, initiating ceasefire violations, calibrating terrorist actions in the hinterland as well as exploiting the social media to launch misinformation campaign in J-K.
He said the Indian Army has given a “befitting response, thwarting their nefarious designs to cause disturbance” in our country.
Lt Gen Singh urged the people not to fall prey to the enemy’s evil designs to poison their minds with incessant propaganda and exhorted them not to proliferate rumours as well as dissuade their near and dear ones from indulging in rumour-mongering. He also said that the counter-terrorism and law and order grids had been strengthened.
“The security forces are suitably deployed to guard important vulnerable points/ areas, prepared for crowd control, emerging law and order situations, as also to conduct effective counter-terrorism operations,” said Lt Gen Singh.
Serving a note of caution to those who harbour plans to disrupt peace and harmony within, GOC-in-C stated that they would be dealt with firmly.
The Army Commander complimented all agencies for their synergised efforts to ensure peace and security in J-K.
Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir is under a lockdown with Section 144 imposed across Srinagar and other sensitive areas of the Valley. Former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah are under house arrest since Monday morning.
This comes in the backdrop of the Government scrapping Article 370, that grants special status to Jammu and J-K and the decision to bifurcate the state into two Union Territories – Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
In view of anticipated violence in Jammu and Kashmir after the Centre’s announcement on repealing Article 370, nearly 8,000 paramilitary troops were on Monday airlifted from Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Assam and other parts of the country to the Valley.
The Indian Army and the Indian Air Force have been put on high alert.
All educational institutions have been closed till further orders and all Kashmir University exams have been postponed without specifying the next date.
Last week, over 28,000 additional troops of paramilitary forces were reportedly deployed in the Kashmir valley.
The Amarnath Yatra was called off amid statements by the India Army that it had received confirmed intelligence inputs on terrorists backed by Pakistan army trying to disrupt Amarnath Yatra in Jammu and Kashmir.
According to the Army, the security forces had recovered a Pakistan Army landmine and an M-24 American sniper rifle with a telescope attached to it from one of the busted terror caches along the pilgrimage route.
A week before, the Centre had issued an order for the deployment of additional 10,000 troops of the paramilitary forces comprising the CRPF, BSF, SSB and ITBP in Jammu and Kashmir in order to strengthen the counter-insurgency grid and for maintaining law and order situation in the state.
Recently, the Centre had deployed about 40,000 central paramilitary and state police personnel to secure the 46-day Amarnath Yatra in the state which began on July 1.