SRINAGAR: Union Home Minister Amit Shah is set to arrive in Jammu on Sunday for a three-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir, during which he will assess the security situation and inaugurate development projects.
The visit, initially scheduled for April 7, has been brought forward by a day, indicating the urgency of addressing the evolving security scenario in the Union Territory.
MLA Bahu, Vikram Randhawa, said that the Union Home Minister is expected to arrive in the afternoon and will chair two high-level security review meetings, as well as a meeting with BJP leaders.
Sources said the Home Minister is likely to chair a Unified Headquarters meeting to review counter-terrorism efforts, border security, and infiltration-related concerns.
The meetings will be attended by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, senior officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Army, paramilitary forces, Jammu and Kashmir Police, intelligence agencies, and the civil administration.
A key area of focus will be on measures to ensure “zero infiltration” along the Line of Control (LoC) and the International Border (IB), a goal Shah has consistently emphasised in previous reviews. “The Home Minister has been regularly reviewing operations in J&K and has directed that the objective should be ‘zero infiltration’ along the LoC and IB, alongside dismantling networks of overground workers and narcotics-linked funding,” an official said.
Shah will tour forward areas along the International Border in Jammu to examine security arrangements on the ground and interact with personnel stationed there.
He is also expected to meet the families of police personnel who have lost their lives in recent encounters, including the Kathua operation, during which four police personnel were killed while confronting infiltrating militants.
Beyond security engagements, the Home Minister will virtually inaugurate and lay foundation stones for several development projects across the Union Territory.
He is also scheduled to meet BJP MLAs and senior party leaders on April 6 to discuss the ongoing Assembly Budget Session, which resumes on April 7 after a 12-day recess, and review the political situation and party performance in J&K.
Dr Jitendra Singh, Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, is also expected to join these discussions.
According to sources, Shah will remain in Jammu until the afternoon of April 7, after which he will travel to Srinagar, where he will stay overnight and hold further meetings. He is scheduled to return to New Delhi on April 8.
The visit comes ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s expected trip to JK on April 19 to flag off the first train to Kashmir from Katra, underlining the need for enhanced security arrangements to safeguard critical infrastructure.
The Ministry of Home Affairs and the JK administration have confirmed that adequate security measures are in place for the visit, including a multi-layered security grid across Jammu and Srinagar. “We remain committed to eradicating terrorism from Jammu and Kashmir,” Shah has reiterated in previous reviews. (KNO)
