Doval’s message to forces: Clean up the terrorists, avoid collateral damage at any cost

New Delhi, Sep 27: National Security Advisor (NSA), Ajit Doval who took stock of the situation in Jammu and Kashmir has advised security forces to be on high alert and also step up operations against terrorists.

Sources privy to the discussions tell OneIndia that Doval made it clear that there was a lot of activity that one could expect from across the border. He cited the recent intelligence warnings and also the drone incident in Punjab.

The source also said that during the meeting, Doval made it clear that the guard should be upped and operations against terrorists intensified. He, however, said that this should not come at the cost of civilian lives and there shall be no collateral damage.

Win the hearts of the people and also react to their issues. Help them out and ensure that they are not troubled, Doval also added.

Further, he directed the security forces to put the anti-infiltration grid along the Pakistan border on high alert. Doval during his visit to Srinagar held a series of meetings with both security forces and bureaucrats. He made it clear that the common people should not suffer and they should be able to go about their routine without fear of terrorists.

Doval's visit to Srinagar covered several aspects. First and foremost it was about the heightened security threats that have been emerging. Further, he also took stock of the security situation ahead of October 31, when Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh would be officially made as Union Territories.

Last week there was also discussions on whether or not to restore mobile services in Jammu and Kashmir. There were reviews on further easing curbs and it was said that mobile services may be restored before the end of this month. An officer had told OneIndia that they are looking into this and all efforts are being made to restore mobile services.

While the administration is keen on restoring mobile services, it would take some time before a decision on the restoration of the internet is taken. We would like to analyse the situation before restoring internet services, the official also said.

A Home Ministry official said that in the current scenario, with the threat perception from Pakistan based terrorists being high, it would not be advisable to restore internet services. Internet has remained suspended in Jammu and Kashmir from August 4 onwards, a day before the decision to abrogate Article 370 was announced.

While security has been tight, the government towards the end of August decided to ease curbs further. A decision on restoring landline telephone services in most parts of the Valley had also been taken.