Amit Shah reviews J&K security in first high-level meeting post-elections

Srinagar, Dec 19: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday chaired a high-level meeting to review the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir, marking his first such review since the recent assembly elections that brought a National Conference-led government to power under Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.

The meeting, attended by J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, senior officials from the Army, paramilitary forces, intelligence agencies, and the Ministry of Home Affairs, focused on the security roadmap for 2025, reports said.

Discussions included addressing recent sporadic terror incidents, including the October 20 attack in the Gagangeer area of Ganderbal in central Kashmir that claimed seven lives, and a series of assaults targeting non-locals in the region. Shah also reviewed measures to prevent such attacks in the future.

Since the abrogation of Article 370 and the reorganization of J&K in 2019, law and order in the Union Territory has remained under the purview of the central government. Official data indicates a decline in violence, with 142 terrorists killed in 2019 compared to around 45 so far this year. Civilian deaths also dropped significantly, from 50 in 2019 to 14 by early November this year.