Top Official Reviews Security For G20 Event In Srinagar Amid Threats

Security agencies operating in Jammu and Kashmir have carried out a thorough assessment for the upcoming G20 working group meeting in Srinagar. The assessment comes days after Poonch and Rajouri attacks.

The 3rd working group G20 meeting on tourism will be held in Srinagar later this month. China and Pakistan have opposed the move to hold any G20 meeting in Kashmir.

To ensure agencies are in sync, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla, accompanied by Director Intelligence Bureau Tapan Deka, landed in Srinagar on Tuesday afternoon.

"All stakeholders operating in valley made a power point presentation explaining the changes made in security grid for venues and visiting dignitaries," a source reveals.

According to the source, forces have been given a refresher on Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED) after setback in Rajouri and Poonch.

Inputs indicate Pakistan is trying to intensify terror activities to derail the G20 Working Group meeting on Tourism in Srinagar.

"More than two dozen terrorists were in Kashmir for almost a year," another source added.

According to the source, North Kashmir has witnessed three back-to-back encounters between security forces and militants in the past five days, in which five terrorists were killed.

The big concern being that three of these five terrorists were from South Kashmir. Their presence in North Kashmir, close to Gulmarg tourist resort, has given rise to fear about the possibility of a major terror strike in the valley, the officials said.

As the threat perception to visiting delegates is at an all-time high, it has been decided that Specialised National Security Guards (NSGs) teams along with the Special Operation Group, a counterterrorism unit of the J&K Police would be deployed at all venues.

Around 500 police personnel had been sent to Udhampur in Jammu for 'soft skills training' as they will be interacting with the delegates who will be chaperoned to tourist destinations in Baramulla, Dachigam National Park, and Gulmarg.

Last week the Centre also extended protection from arrest under Section 45 of the Criminal Procedure Code to all Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) deployed in Kashmir. The special protections were previously inapplicable in J&K due to Article 370.