Jammu: Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrived here on Friday evening amid tight security arrangements on a two-day visit to review the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir and reach out to shelling-hit affected people in Poonch, officials said.
This is Shah’s first visit to the Union Territory post Operation Sindoor, they said.
Shah will during his stay in the Jammu region also visit religious places, meet shelling-hit people and the BSF personnel in the district, which recorded the highest number of 14 civilian deaths among the total 28 lives lost in the indiscriminate Pakistani shelling and drone attacks during the skirmishes between May 7 and 10, officials said.
Soon after his arrival in Jammu, Shah was received by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha at the airport and drove straight to the Raj Bhawan.
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Shah will chair a high-level security review meeting at the Raj Bhawan late tonight. Besides the lieutenant governor, senior officials of the army, paramilitary forces, police, intelligence agencies and civil administration will be attending the one-and-a-half hours meeting, they said.
Apart from discussion on the security situation and ongoing anti-terrorist operations, he will be reviewing the security and administrative measures concerning the Amarnath Yatra beginning from July 3.
After a night stay in Jammu, Shah will fly to Poonch and interact with shelling-hit families during his visit to Poonch on Friday.
He will also visit damaged religious places, including Singh Sabha Gurdwara and hold a meeting with officers to assess the damage in the worst-hit district, officials said.
The minister will also visit the Border Security Force (BSF) camp in Poonch and interact with the jawans.
He will address the civilians affected by Pakistani shelling at Dak Bungalow in Poonch and the BSF soldiers at their Unit Headquarters at Khanetar.
Shah is likely to distribute appointment letters among the next of kin of civilians killed in the shelling, they said.
This will be the Home minister’s third visit to Jammu and Kashmir since April 6 and first after the Indian armed forces struck terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in the early hours of May 7 in retaliation to the Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 people, mostly tourists, dead.
After conducting a three-day tour on April 6, Shah again visited Kashmir on April 23, a day after the Pahalgam attack.
Ahead of Shah’s visit to Jammu and Kashmir, the Congress demanded that he should announce a comprehensive relief and rehabilitation package for border residents, including the allotment of five marla plots at safer locations.
“The victims of cross-border shelling in Poonch deserve immediate relief and rehabilitation. We demand a relief and rehabilitation package for them. We demand that five marla plots be allotted to them at safer places so that they can rebuild their lives,” said Jammu and Kashmir Congress working president Raman Bhalla, adding that Shah must make this announcement during his visit.
Congress chief spokesperson Ravinder Sharma accused the BJP-led government of ignoring the plight of border residents.
“The Home minister is finally visiting Jammu thirty days after the terror attack and Pakistani shelling, but the damage is done,” Sharma said.
“It is shameful that no Union minister, not even the Defence or Home minister, visited Poonch earlier, even as the area suffered the worst damage and civilian casualties,” he added.
Sharma pointed out that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had reached Poonch before any central minister to meet the victims and express solidarity.
“The prime minister did not even mention the devastation in Poonch in his public addresses,” he added.
Commenting on Shah’s visit to Jammu and Kashmir, Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary said, “It is the right of the Home minister to visit, especially Poonch, where heavy damage has occurred. Around 80 per cent of Poonch has been affected. Other border areas like Uri and Nowshera have also suffered. Therefore, it is his duty to visit all these places.”
The deputy chief minister hoped that Shah would grant each border family an individual bunker for their safety in a crisis situation.
“Apart from this, we also hope he will facilitate restoration of statehood to J&K which will ensure resolution of all problems here,” he said.
Choudhary said the delay on account of relief and other support is due to multiple power centres despite having an elected government headed by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.
“We want him to be empowered,” he added.
Meanwhile, a senior leader of the ruling National Conference urged Shah to announce a comprehensive financial package for people affected by Pakistani shelling, while the J&K Congress questioned his delayed visit to the region.
“I sincerely hope the Home minister will recognize the gravity of the situation and announce a substantial financial package for people affected by the cross border shelling,” said National Conference provincial president Rattan Lal Gupta.
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