Samaan Lateef

Srinagar, April 29

Security forces have discussed various countermeasures against the emerging threat of “vehicle-borne” improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs) on the national highway a week after militants ambushed an Army vehicle in Poonch and killed five soldiers.

Top officials’ meet

• A meeting was organised in Anantnag in which Kashmir ADGP Vijay Kumar, Maj Gen Prashant Srivastava, GOC, Victor Force, CRPF IG MS Bhatia, BSF IG Ashok Yadav and others were present.
• Ahead of G-20 meetings in Kashmir, security forces are on high alert.

A meeting in South Kashmir’s Anantnag was attended by top police, Army and CRPF officials who discussed potential threats from militants on the Srinagar-Jammu highway. Countermeasures were decided accordingly.

Kashmir ADGP Vijay Kumar, Major General Prashant Srivastava, GOC, Victor Force, CRPF IG (operations sector) MS Bhatia, BSF IG Ashok Yadav, Intelligence Bureau’s joint director, Army’s sector commanders and officials from other security agencies attended the meeting.

“The standard-operating procedures for the convoy movement were also discussed and accordingly upgraded. All field officers gave their assessments,” a police spokesperson said.

The ADGP instructed the top district police officers to focus on anti-militant operations, busting militant modules by apprehending their associates. “They were specially tasked to generate preventive intelligence and share timely amongst all stakeholders,” the police said.

Ahead of the arrival of global leaders for the G-20 meetings in Kashmir in May, the security forces have been on high alert and several measures have been taken to strengthen security on the highway. This includes deployment of additional troops, installation of CCTV cameras and the use of drones for surveillance.

On April 20, a deadly attack occurred in the Bhata Dhurian area of Poonch in which five soldiers were killed and another injured. “Various strategies to counter the emerging threat of vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices, which have become a preferred mode of attack for terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir, were discussed in the meeting,” a top security official said. The GOC Victor force asked sector commanders to do extensive area domination at night too.