The Home Ministry said on Friday that in line with its clampdown against Pakistan apologists and secessionist elements in Jammu and Kashmir, it has removed security cover of 919 ‘undeserving persons’ in Jammu & Kashmir, including 22 separatist leaders since the President’s rule was imposed in the state in June 2018.
A press note released by the Ministry of Home Affairs said that 2768 security personnel were freed after withdrawing the security cover of 919 ‘underserving persons’ and resulted in the availability of 389 vehicles. The move will alleviate the burden on the scarce police resources available in the state and help the administration to prioritise their deployment.
The decision to remove security covers was taken after J&K State Security Review Coordination Committee(SRCC) held several meetings to examine all the cases and ensure that strict norms were followed. The SRCC is going to continue to examine and review the requirement of security cover on a case to case basis.
In the wake of the Pulwama attack, which was orchestrated by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Muhammad terror outfit, the Ministry of Home Affairs had come down hard against the secessionist elements and Pakistan sympathisers, removing security covers of many individuals harbouring anti-India sentiments. Government had withdrawn security cover of prominent separatist leaders such as SAS Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Shabir Shah, Abdul Ghani Bhatt, Bilal Lone, Yasin Malik and many others.