ANTONY ASKS SECURITY FORCES IN J&K NOT TO BE COMPLACENT

ANTONY REVIEWS SECURITY SITUATION IN J&K

New Delhi

January 12, 2010

The Defence Minister  AK Antony today 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 today, 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 have increased.

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. 'The incidents of the first week of January in the valley are indicative of the shape of things to come', the Defence Minister said in reference to the terrorist attack in Lal Chowk area of Srinagar.

The meeting was attended among others by the Chief Minister of J&K, Omar Abdullah, the Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand, the Chief of Army Staff, Gen Deepak Kapoor, the Defence Secretary Shri Pradeep Kumar, officers and commanders from MoD and Service Headquarters, Senior officers from the Government of J&K, Security and Intelligence Agencies.

Antony said with the improvement in the security situation, time has now come for the State Police to be given far greater responsibility, particularly in major towns in tackling the threat of terrorism in the state. However, 'the handing over of the responsibility must be meticulously planned and undertaken in a gradual, phased manner', he said.

He disclosed that on the request of MoD, the Ministry of Home Affairs has issued instructions to CRPF to take over the entire responsibility of opening of roads on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway- 1 A from January 15, 2010. ' This has been done to reduce the visibility of the Army, without in any way, diluting our counter-terrorist grid', he said.

Antony said a request has also been sent to MHA to issue instructions to discontinue the use of combat uniform by all Central Police Organisations and state police.

The Defence Minister reiterated the government's policy of 'zero tolerance' towards Human Rights Violation by Armed Forces personnel. "Our Armed Forces personnel must be conscious of the respect for human rights all the time. They must follow the twin ethics of 'minimum use of force' and 'good faith' during operations. Though the constraints of the security forces are understandable, the security forces too must bear in mind that the process of winning the hearts and minds of people is never an easy one", Antony said.

Taking part in the deliberations, the State Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah requested the Defence Minister to explore the possibility of recruiting more youth from the state in the three Armed Forces. He also requested for more helicopter support for reaching out to the populace living in far flung and remote areas of the state.

Later, the Defence Minister addressed the Jawans and had lunch with them. Dense fog and poor visibility, however, forced the Minister to drop his plans of visiting forward areas of the region. Antony has since returned to the Capital.