On a day when at least two civilians and a militant were killed in separate incidents of violence including two grenade explosions, the topmost security and intelligence officers assembled at headquarters of XV Corps to discuss the security situation in Kashmir Valley.
The meeting was chaired by General Officer Commanding-in-chief (Northern Command) lt Gen Ranbir Singh who arrived on a 3-day visit of the Valley on Monday morning.
“The Army Commander chaired a key Security Review Meeting of the Core Group which was attended by the senior officials from the Army, Police, CRPF and various other security agencies,” a defence spokesman said adding the fallout of social media on the security situation in Kashmir was discussed besides the aspects of alienation of people and minimization of civilian casualties during anti-militancy operations.
This is Gen Singh’s second visit to Kashmir in three days. On July 7, he was hurriedly called in by the Governor’s administration to attend a security review meeting in the wake of killing of three youngsters including a 16-year-old schoolgirl Andleeb Allai. The trio in the age group of 16-22 years were killed when army resorted to firing in response to a stone-peltting incident in the area.
Governor NN Vohra expressed “deep anguish” on the loss of civilian lives and reiterated the vital importance of the laid down Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) being most strictly adhered to by Army and all Security Forces to avoid incidents of civilian casualties and collateral damages, even in situations of extreme provocation.
Earlier, Army Commander was briefed by the XV Corps Commander, lt Gen AK Bhatt, at Badami Bagh Cantonment on the overall security situation and major operational, logistical and administrative aspects. He also appreciated the synergy being maintained through the joint efforts of all the agencies which he said was the most critical aspect of successful counter terrorist operations.