Union Home Minister Amit Shah will be sending a ‘stern’ warning to neighbouring Pakistan against disturbing ‘peace’ in the region during his visit to the border outpost in the Kathua district on Monday.

Shah will be accompanied by the top brass of the Border Security Force, including its Director General, Chiefs of Central Intelligence agencies and senior Home Ministry officials.

Security has been beefed up across Jammu and Kashmir, especially along the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway and in and around vital security installations in the region. Shah is expected to interact with the foot soldiers deployed along the International border with Pakistan to further boost their morale and defeat the nefarious designs of the enemy.

Amit Shah is also expected to reiterate India’s stand that any cross-border terrorism against it will “inevitably invite consequences”. The Union Home Minister’s visit to the forward area is being closely watched as it is taking place against the backdrop of an ongoing anti-terror operation since March 23.

A multi-layered security grid has been activated to hunt down the group of Pakistani terrorists who are still at large and roaming freely in the upper reaches of the Kathua district after their initial contact with the forces in the Sanyal village of Hiranagar on March 23.

Four jawans of the Jammu and Kashmir police have sacrificed their lives in these operations in the Juthana forest area of Kathua on March 27. Since then, the group of terrorists has been spotted by the residents, and they too have knocked on the doors of the villagers in search of food, water, and a mobile handset.

The situation along the line of control in the frontier districts of Rajouri and Poonch is also tense following recent incidents of unprovoked ceasefire violations by the Pakistan army. A Pakistani intruder was also neutralised by the BSF troops along the International border near Abdullian border outpost in the RS Pura sector of Jammu frontier late Friday night.

Leader of the Opposition, Sunil Sharma on Sunday said on his arrival in Jammu, the Home Minister is scheduled to attend a meeting with the BJP legislators at the party headquarters on Sunday evening. He is also expected to discuss the current political situation and performance of the party legislators during the ongoing Budget session of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly.

On Monday, the Home Minister is also scheduled to meet families of the police personnel who laid down their lives during anti-terror operations in the Kathua district in Raj Bhawan before flying to Srinagar for the most crucial leg of the visit where he is scheduled to chair a high level security review meeting with senior officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs and chiefs of different security agencies along with Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on April 8. Meanwhile, ahead of his visit, the Congress party has launched a frontal attack, asking him to explain the utter failure of his ministry to contain the spread of terrorist activities in the Jammu region in recent years.

Terming the overall security situation in Jammu region as grim, Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) has asked the visiting Home Minister Amit Shah to explain the utter failure of his ministry to contain the spread of terrorist activities in the Jammu region in recent years.

Referring to the growing concern of the people over the worsening of the security situation in various parts of the Jammu region, JKPCC Chief Spokesperson Advocate Ravinder Sharma has said that the Home Minister should explain the failure of his ministry to check rising terrorism in Jammu region, when UT is under direct control of his ministry.

Terrorism was almost wiped out in the Jammu region in the past two decades by the previous governments, but it has risen again from January 1st,2023, when seven minority Hindus were martyred at Dhangri, Rajouri. Since then, a series of attacks have continued in different parts of the region, including on the army and security forces, who have rendered several supreme sacrifices.

Reiterating the party’s demand for early restoration of statehood as per repeated commitments by the centre government, especially Home Minister Amit Shah, Sharma said that the dual system of governance under UT is harmful to the interests of common people and is causing political unrest here. The Home Minister should give a timeline for the restoration of statehood at the earliest, during his current visit.