Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives and its affiliate groups across the border are mapping prominent spots in Kashmir along with the Amarnath Yatra security grid, according to reports citing open-source intelligence sources on Sunday. The reports also stated that security forces have been put on high alert while the situation is being closely monitored.
DIG Jammu-Samba-Kathua range, Shridhar Patil, said security forces in border and sensitive areas of the districts are on alert. His comments came after he chaired a comprehensive security and crime review meeting with all supervisory officers at the District Police Lines in Kathua, a police spokesperson confirmed.
He urged officers to maintain strict vigilance and heightened alertness to effectively foil any designs of anti-national elements.
Officers have been instructed to ensure robust checking, increased patrolling and seamless coordination with security and intelligence agencies, the spokesperson added.
Jammu and Kashmir is a highly security-sensitive region, with forces personnel, including the Army, CRPF and police, dealing with special operational challenges.
Last year, just one security lapse claimed 26 lives when terrorists emerged from forests in Pahalgam and gunned down tourists, which led to a major escalation between India and Pakistan days after the attack in May.
With tourists coming in large numbers and the upcoming Amarnath Yatra, a strong security grid, along with multi-agency coordination, is considered essential to prevent any possible attacks.
While violence in Kashmir has come down sharply over the past few years, the continued busting of terror hideouts and arrests of overground workers (OGWs) and other terror associates in the state remain a concern for security agencies.
There is little room for error, as even a single event during the peak tourism season in Kashmir can cripple the economy and is enough to bring two countries to the brink of war.
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