Will security cover for Kashmir separatists be reviewed?

Srinagar, Feb 16: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh made a veiled reference to the separatists and said that the security cover given to them must be reviewed.

"Some elements in Jammu and Kashmir have links with the ISI and terrorist organisations. I have asked the state administration to review the security cover provided to these elements," he said after holding a review meeting with top officers, a day after 40 CRPF jawans were killed in an audacious suicide attack.

The Union home minister also announced that civilian traffic will be restricted on highways and major roads in Jammu and Kashmir during the movement of convoys of Army and security forces.

"Civilian traffic movement will be restricted for some time during movement of Army and security forces convoys. This may cause inconvenience and I apologise for this but this is necessary for safety of jawans," he told reporters after a high-level security review meeting here.

Rajnath Singh is on a visit to Jammu and Kashmir following the worst terror attack on security forces in the state in the past three decades.

He said he has instructed the state government to ensure communal harmony.

40 CRPF personnel were killed and five injured on Thursday in one of the deadliest terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir when a Jaish-e-Mohammad suicide bomber rammed a vehicle carrying over 100kg of explosives into their bus in Pulwama district.

The bus was part of a convoy of 78 vehicles carrying CRPF personnel from Jammu to Srinagar.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said those responsible for the attack will pay "a very heavy price" and security forces will be given a free hand to deal with terrorists.

In a hard-hitting speech, Modi said the "blood of the people is boiling" and forces behind the act of terrorism will be definitely punished.