Amit Shah's J&K Visit Tomorrow Days After 5th Anniversary Of Central Rule

Days after Jammu and Kashmir marked five years under central rule without elections, Union Home Minister Amit Shah is set to visit the erstwhile state on Friday.

He will address a BJP rally in Jammu before reaching Srinagar and chair a security review meeting ahead of the upcoming Shri Amarnath Yatra.

Mr Shah will also inaugurate a Balidaan Stambh or sacrifice memorial pillar at Partab Park in Srinagar's Lal Chowk on Saturday.

The Home Minister will stay in Srinagar for the night and fly back to Delhi on Saturday to lead an all-party meeting on the Manipur situation.

The BJP has said it will be a massive public rally in Jammu to mark the death anniversary of Syama Prasad Mukherjee, the founder of Bharatiya Jana Sangh who died in custody in Srinagar after he was arrested for violating the entry permit system in J&K in 1953.

The rally is being held days after the Jammu and Kashmir BJP president appealed to the Election Commission to hold assembly polls.

This is the Home Minister's second visit to Jammu and Kashmir this year. In January, Amit Shah visited Jammu following a targeted attack on Hindu families in Rajouri. Seven people were killed and over dozen were injured by terrorists after they attacked Hindu families at Dangri village.

The attackers remain at large despite a massive counter-terrorist operation by security forces. Last month, there were two major attacks on the army in Rajouri and Poonch in which 10 soldiers were killed.

A massive security deployment has been made for the upcoming Amarnath Yatra. The Army, BSF, CRPF, ITBP, SSB and Jammu and Kashmir police are part of the security grid deployed for the smooth conduct of the yatra.

But while the attacks in parts of Jammu remain a major concern, the situation in the Kashmir Valley is largely peaceful and the number of terrorists is believed to be at an all-time low - a point underscored by the recent successful G20 working group meeting in Srinagar.