Centre will move additional troops to LoC

Srinagar: In response to recent media reports that Pakistan was moving troops to Gilgit-Baltistan along with some Chinese presence, a series of high-level meetings were held at New Delhi, including by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.

Lieutenant GovernorGirish Chandra Murmu, along with Chief Secretary and other officials, was summoned to New Delhi and held meetings for two days this week and met Defence Ministry officials also, apart from Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

Highly-placed official sources said that after ground intelligence reports that more and more infiltration attempts were being made in the past two weeks, the Union government has decided to move additional troops to LoC in Kashmir and also in Rajouri and Poonch sectors of Jammu region.

Recently, several attempts were made in the Rajouri sector in which security forces killed one infiltrator and foiled half-a-dozen infiltration attempts. On Friday, the government told the media that they have lodged a strong protest with Pakistan over unprovoked ceasefire violations along the LoC and international border, trying to push terrorists in Kashmir. According to the official data, 14 Indians were killed and 88 sustained injuries in more than 2,432 incidents of unprovoked ceasefire violations carried out by Pakistani forces till June this year.

The Union Home Ministry called L-GMurmu and Chief Secretary B.V.R. Subramanyam, and held several meetings on Wednesday and Thursday in which top officials of intelligence wings also participated. Reports said that it was decided to move more troops to LoC also in Uri, Keran, Karnah and Machil sectors of Kashmir as the firing incidents from across the LoC have increased.

Apart from attempts of infiltration, Union Home Ministry also wanted a comprehensive security plan for UT administration of Jammu and Kashmir if they wanted to go ahead with their plan of two weeks’ Amarnath Yatra in Kashmir.

The government is also worried about the growing curve of Covid-19 cases in Jammu and Kashmir as hundreds of fresh cases are being reported on a daily basis, forcing the authorities to rethink about the re-imposition of lockdown in Kashmir.