Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday chaired a key meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) in the wake of the recent spurt in terrorist attacks in Jammu region leading to deaths of military personnel.
The Centre is believed to be working on a coordinated strategy to counter the menace of terrorism and to ensure that it does not hamper the pace of development activities initiated to bolster the region’s economy.
The meeting on security was attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah. The members of the CCS include Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
The recent incidents of terrorist attacks have led to 27 deaths. In Doda region in the past four days, there have been three encounters in which four Army personnel were martyred.
The Army has been conducting combing operations in the forests where the terrorists have retreated after indulging in sudden violence.
The Central Government has taken note that the renewed terrorist attacks have come after the relative peace of recent months. The Centre has been following a policy of zero tolerance of terrorist violence.
The Defence and Home Ministries are likely to strengthen the mechanism to minimize scope for infiltration from across the border. The government will not restrain itself from taking innovative steps to eliminate the terrorist activity.
The current terrorist violence is being seen as an attempt of anti-national forces to divert attention from development work and creation of employment opportunities.
A month back only the Home Minister had reviewed the security scenario in Jammu and Kashmir at a high-level meeting attended by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Lieutenant Governor of J&K Manoj Sinha and senior representatives of the Army and State Police.
The security agencies were directed to replicate the successes achieved against terrorism in the Kashmir Valley through Area Domination Plan and Zero Terror Plan in the Jammu division.
The government steps had led to significant reduction in terror related incidents in the Kashmir Valley. The improved law-and-order situation was reflected in record flow of tourists to the Valley and the Lok Sabha elections saw record turn-out in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Prime Minister paid a two-day visit to Srinagar on the occasion of the 10th International Day of Yoga (IYD) (21 June) and took part in the ‘Empowering Youth, Transforming J&K’ event to support the local youth towards new livelihood opportunities. Mr Modi laid the foundation stones of a number of development projects also.