Discusses border security and counter-terrorism steps with Central panel
Governor NN Vohra has impressed upon the Committee to Strengthen Border Protection (CSBP) to work out an effective strategy to counter infiltration from across the border to ensure that there is no repeat of the Pathankot terror attack.
Vohra made this point during a meeting with the CSBP chairman and former Union Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta. The Governor was briefed about the CSBP assessment of the situation on the international border in Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir and the steps that should be taken to address this problem impacting the national security. Gupta along with members of his committee called on the Governor here today.
The Pathankot air base came under terrorist assault in January this year in which seven security personnel, including officers, were killed. Jaish-e-Mohammad, an outfit floated by Masood Azhar, has been held responsible for the attack.
The other members of the CSBP included Arvind Gupta, Deputy National Security Adviser; K Vijay Kumar, Adviser in the Ministry of Home Affairs; Ashok Prasad, former Secretary (Internal Security) in the Ministry of Home Affairs; and National Security Council Secretariat officers Arvind Kumar and Shivananda.
This meeting of the panel with the J&K Governor comes after its recent visit to the international border.
During his discussions with the committee, the Governor recalled the repeated terror attacks from across the international border and the Line of Control in the Jammu and Kashmir regions, particularly since 2012, and stressed that after the Pathankot air base terror attack it had become a matter of vital importance to review the existing anti-infiltration arrangements on the ground and ensure time-bound strengthening of the counter-infiltration and counter-terrorism grids, particularly along the international border in the Jammu region.
The Governor also discussed with the committee several other important issues related to the internal and external security management in J&K and in the neighbouring Punjab.
Gupta, who is here to assess the ground realities of the border management, shared his assessment with the Governor about the sustained attempts at cross-border infiltration and the steps which would be required to strengthen and plug any existing loopholes.
