J&K Governor directs Security Forces to exercise maximum restraint

SRINAGAR, FEBRUARY 16: Governor N. N. Vohra has directed that maximum restraint should be exercised to minimise co-lateral damage while conducting operations against militants/ terrorists.
The Governor was chairing a high level meeting to review the maintenance of security in Kashmir Valley with top officers of Civil, Police, Central Armed Police Forces, Army and the Intelligence Agencies at the Civil Secretariat, Srinagar today.
The meeting was attended by the two Advisors to the Governor, Chief Secretary, DGP, Principal Secretary to Governor, Home Secretary, XV Corps Commander, Inspectors General of BSF and CRPF, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir and IGP, Kashmir and senior officers of the State and Central Intelligence Agencies, among others.
The Governor directed the DGP to hold urgent discussions with the security forces to evolve a fully agreed standard drill to be followed before and post-operations against the militants/terrorists. He stressed the need for enforcing strict pre-emptive measures, including imposition of reasonable restrictions, as part of the approach to be followed in minimizing inconvenience to the people at large and ensure that the encounters against militants do not result in injury or any unfortunate killing of innocent civilians. DGP was also directed to review and enforce clear procedures for the firing of live ammunition in dealing with varied emerging situations. The Governor also stressed the urgent importance of pro-active steps being taken for creating awareness amongst the people at large to keep away from the area where operations against militants/terrorists were ongoing. The Governor also stressed the use of increased application of technology to further improve the capability of security agencies and ensure against any co-lateral damage to the civil population while conducting anti-militancy operations.
The meeting deliberated on various important issues relating to the internal and external security situation in the Kashmir Valley, particularly in the backdrop of the Pulwama incident. The officers representing the different agencies briefed the meeting about the measures being taken by them to maintain internal order. The Governor called upon the Civil and Police Administration and the Security Forces to ensure continued close coordination and cohesive action for effectively maintaining internal security.