NSA Ajit Doval attends high-level meeting at MHA to discuss, review security in Kashmir

A top level meeting is underway at the Ministry of Home Affairs to primarily review and discuss the security systems in place in Kashmir, among other issues. NSA Ajit Doval and officers from Kashmir are also participating in the meeting.

National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval is participating in a high-level meeting at the Ministry of Home Affairs to discuss and review security systems in place in Kashmir, among other issues.

Apart from the NSA, senior officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs and from Jammu & Kashmir were also present at the meeting.

A slew of targeted killings in the Kashmir Valley has resulted in tensions being high in New Delhi. According to security forces, the attacks have been carried out by hybrid terrorists. These are operatives who are not on any terror lists but are radicalised enough to carry out a strike and then slip back into routine life.

The situation in Jammu and Kashmir has taken a sudden and violent turn. Last month, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said Jammu and Kashmir was fast returning to normal. He said the decades-long terrorism was on its last legs. Srinagar was declared 'terror-free' by the police in August 2020, but now there has been a swell in terror ranks, with multiple targeted killings over the last two months.

Earlier today, two terrorists were gunned down in an encounter with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir’s Shopian. One of the slain ultras was involved in the killing of a bank manager in Kulgam earlier this month, police said.

Around 160 terrorists are active in the Valley. Among them, 70 are local militants and 90 are foreign operatives. According to conservative estimates, the number of hybrid terrorists could be close to 50. Sources said Pakistan is ensuring that weapons, mostly pistols and sticky bombs, make it into the hands of these hybrid militants.