Rajnath chairs meet to review J&K situation

Srinagar: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday chaired a high level meeting here to review the security situation in Indian-administered-Kashmir in the wake of recent spurt in militant attacks including the deadly Pampore strike.
The review meeting, in which Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti was present, comes a day ahead of the start of Amarnath Yatra.
Top civil administration and security officials of the state were also present in the meeting, officials said. During the hour-long meeting, the Union Home Minister was briefed about the security situation in the state, particularly in the backdrop of the recent spurt in militancy-related incidents in the valley, the officials said.
"The Home Minister was informed about the recent militant attacks in security forces including the deadly attack at Pampore that led eight Central Reserve Police Force(CRPF) personnel and two militants dead. The attacks on BSF in Bijbehara and on police Anantnag were also discussed," an official said.
Singh was also briefed about the counter-insurgency and counter-infiltration operations in the state which saw elimination of more than a dozen militants during the month of June, officials said. The officials said the Home Minister was briefed about the steps taken for ensuring incident-free Amarnath Yatra which will begin from Saturday.
The first batch of pilgrims left from Jammu on Friday morning and arrived at the base camps of Pahalgam in Anantnag and Baltal in Ganderbal districts. Singh stressed on effective coordination between various security and intelligence agencies to thwart the attempts of militants to disrupt peace in the state, the officials added. Chief Secretary B. R. Sharma, Director General of Police K. Rajendra Kumar, top officials from the army, CRPF, BSF and intelligence agencies were also present in the meeting.