Security review: Sinha chairs first meeting of Unified Command Hq

JAMMU: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha chaired meeting of Unified Command headquarters here on Thursday, his first after taking over reigns in Jammu and Kashmir over five months ago.
Top officials from the Indian Army, Border Security Force, Jammu and Kashmir Police, Central Reserve Police Force and other intelligence agencies in the meeting briefed Sinha on various security related aspects.
Held shortly ahead of the Republic Day, an event of high security attention, the meeting assumes significance in view of Pakistan’s renewed strategy to foment terrorism in Jammu region after facing major losses in Kashmir.
In the recent months Pakistan has shifted its focus to the Jammu region after facing huge losses to its terror cadres in Kashmir Valley under “Operation All Out”. There have been attempts on an almost daily basis by the Pakistan side to push-in terrorists into the Indian soil in wake of cross-border firing or ceasefire violation in the Jammu region so as to target vital installations and public places.
“During the meeting, the new plan of Pakistan to revive those “terror-prone” areas which were once active in Jammu region has also been discussed and the steps being taken by the security forces to foil such attempts of the enemy,” they added.
Sources said that meeting started at around 12 in the noon and continued for over three hours. Another round of Unified Command meeting could take place in few weeks after the Republic Day celebrations.
The year 2020 was successful for the security forces as they manage to gun down 225 terrorists apart from busting major terror hideouts and gunning down top commanders of each and every terror outfit operating in Kashmir Valley.
In last 2-3 months, sources said that various terror associates have been arrested who were once an active part of these terror outfits but were out of this terror game for so many years.
Sources said that during the meeting, BSF officials put forth the challenges posed by the Pakistani rangers along with terrorists using drones and tunnels for weapon dropping and terror infiltration.
In past six months, there have been seven attempts of weapon dropping and surveillance using drones by the Pakistani side and three tunnels have been unearthed so far by the alert troops of BSF which were either used or were about to be.
Jammu and Kashmir Police officials also shared the details of the operations carried out by the police in Jammu as well as in Kashmir in the past six months.
“Inputs were also taken from all the security agencies regarding the restoration of high-speed internet in remaining 18 districts of Jammu which are yet to get 4G mobile internet services post abrogation of article 370 and 35A,” they said adding that the next review meeting for the restoration of high-speed mobile internet is likely to be held soon.