With eight days left for the annual Amarnath pilgrimage to begin, Governor Satya Pal Malik held a meeting of the Unified Headquarters and stressed upon the security agencies to ensure a secure environment and hassle-free movement of pilgrims.

The 46-day long pilgrimage will begin on 1 July in South Kashmir that is these days witnessing heightened incidents of terrorism.

The top brass of the army, police, paramilitary forces, state and central intelligence agencies attended the meeting on Friday evening in Srinagar. The meeting was attended by K Vijay Kumar, Advisor to Governor; BVR Subrahmanyam, Chief Secretary; Lt Gen. Ranbir Singh, GOC-in-C, Northern Command; Dilbag Singh, Director General of Police; Lt Gen. KJS Dhillon, GOC 15 Corps; Lt Gen. JS Nain GOC 9 Corps; Umang Narula, Financial Commissioner to Governor; Shaleen Kabra Principal Secretary, Home; Baseer Khan, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir; Sanjeev Verma, Divisional Commissioner, Jammu; ADGP Security, Law and Order;  ADGP, CID; ADG CRPF;  IG CRPF (Operations), IGP Jammu; IGP Kashmir; IG CRPF Srinagar; IG BSF Kashmir; DIG SSB; DIG ITBP and other senior officers of central and state intelligence agencies.

The meeting deliberated on various important issues relating to the internal and external security situation in the state.

The Governor expressed satisfaction over the security management in the past year despite continuing challenges on many fronts. He stressed the need for close and effective coordination among all the security forces and intelligence agencies to maintain peace and order in the state.

Lauding the valour and sacrifices made by the Security Forces’ personnel, the Governor complimented the security forces and intelligence agencies for achieving a very high level of convergence on the anti-militancy front and observed that the joint efforts of the agencies had resulted in neutralising the inimical elements. He observed that the morale of the security forces is high and they are capable of giving a befitting reply to the enemy.

The meeting reviewed the security situation in the border areas along the International Border and the Line of Control and the Line of Actual Control and analysed issues relating to cross border movements and infiltration attempts across the border. In this context, the Governor called upon the civil and police administration and the security forces to ensure continued close coordination and timely measures for the security of the civil population in the frontier belts.