Have crippled terror eco-system, now make J&K ‘terror-free: Amit Shah at review meet

NEW DELHI: Union home minister Amit Shah on Thursday directed all security agencies deployed in Jammu and Kashmir to remain alert and continue to work in synergy to ensure that the gains achieved after the abrogation of Article 370 were sustained.

The home minister also stressed that the government would provide all necessary resources needed by them to achieve the goal of ‘terror free J&K’ at the earliest.

The directions were given at a high-level review meeting on Thursday in Delhi, which was attended by lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha, union home secretary Govind Mohan, Intelligence Bureau director Tapan Deka, senior officials of J&K and chiefs of central police forces.

Officials said Thursday’s meeting comes ahead of the Republic Day celebrations. The security forces, for the past few weeks, have launched an intensive campaign to hunt down terrorists in mountainous regions and the jungles.

The security forces, an officer said, are also keeping an eye on the infiltration of terrorists from across the border.

Speaking at the meeting, Shah said the Government of India was committed to establishing lasting peace in Jammu and Kashmir and completely eliminating terrorism. He said that the “terror eco-system in J&K has been crippled” due to sustained and coordinated efforts of the government, a ministry of home affairs statement issued after the meeting said.

Appreciating the security forces for strengthening the security scenario of J&K, Shah said that Counter Terror (CT) operations targeting terrorist infrastructure and terror financing should be continued in a mission mode.

As reported by HT last month, Border Security Force (BSF) in Jammu has recently flagged the re-emergence of at least nine Jaish-e-Mohammed terror launch pads across the international border in Pakistan that were shut down following Operation Sindoor.

On April 22 last year, a terror attack at the picturesque Baisaran meadow brought India and Pakistan to the brink of a full-scale war. India launched Operation Sindoor in the early hours of May 7 and struck terror and military installations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) before the May 10 ceasefire.