Defence Minister A K Antony on Tuesday reviewed the security situation of the State particularly Jammu division at Unified Headquarters Meeting held in Jammu. The Meeting was chaired by J&K chief Minister Omar Abdullah and was attended by top Army brass including Army Chief Deepak Kapoor, Defence Secretary, Pradeep Kumar besides representatives of State Police and Central Para Military Forces. Mr Antony who was also scheduled to visit some forward areas on Line of Control in Rajouri district could not go there due to bad weather conditions. <br/><br/>AIR correspondent reports, Mr Antony stressed on enhancing vigilance on the borders and LoC keeping in view the increased attempts of infiltration in 2009 as compared to 2008. The Defence Minister while complementing the State Police and Security Forces for efficiently handling Lal Chowk incident said that, in future also such incidents would be handled with same efficiency. <br/><br/>The Defence Minister also said that some outside forces inimical to the country are making several attempts to infiltrate borders, therefore, there is need to heighten vigilance. Sh. Antony and J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah reiterated the Government’s commitment to zero tolerance of human rights violation. The Chief Minister emphasized for recruitment drive for local youth in defence forces and urged for frequent recruitment rallies for this purpose in the State especially in far-flung areas.<br/><br/>The Defence Minister Shri AK Antony has asked the security agencies in Jammu & Kashmir not to be complacent and work towards consolidating the gains achieved in the last couple of years. Addressing the top brass of various security forces and agencies at the Unified Headquarters in Jammu during his day-long visit on Tuesday, Shri Antony said the synergy and hard work put in by the various security agencies, as also the local people, has brought down considerably the 'level of violence' in J&K though the attempts of infiltration has increased.<br/>Shri Antony said the year 2010 may prove to be a crucial one as forces inimical to stability and peace in J&K would make all-out efforts to neutralise the gains of 2008 and 2009 when the state witnessed considerable improvement in the security situation. He said that the incidents of the first week of January in the valley are indicative of the shape of things to come. Shri Antony said this in reference to the terrorist attack in Lal Chowk area of Srinagar.
News On AIR | January 13, 2010 11:21 AM
Defence Minister Antony reviews security in Jammu