Troops in J&K airlifted to Northeast

Srinagar: More than 40 units of paramilitary forces have been airlifted from Kashmir to the Northeastern states, on instructions of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. This follows the outbreak of violent protests since Parliament passed the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) on Wednesday, thus becoming the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

Dozens of troops have been put on standby and the Centre has reportedly asked authorities to deploy Jammu and Kashmir Armed Police (JKAP) for maintenance of law and order in Kashmir. Official sources confirmed to The Sunday Guardian that personnel from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF) and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) have been disengaged from Kashmir to the Northeast and many columns have been put on standby.

“We have already started this process and more units will be dispatched from Kashmir in the coming days. If the weather remains unfavourable, they would be airlifted from here to their next destination,” a senior police officer said on Friday. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs is closely monitoring the situation in Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura after the passing of the CAB in both Houses of Parliament.

The situation in Kashmir has been peaceful to a large extent after the abrogation of Article 370. While post-paid mobile services were restored recently, the ban on internet services and pre-paid mobiles continues. Authorities here are not allowing any public gathering, even on the shrines of Hazratbal and Khanyar. There is a blanket ban on Friday prayers in the main mosque of Jamia Masjid in Srinagar and all other major mosques.