Early Times Report
Jammu, Jan 16 : In backdrop of the terror attack on the Air Force base in Pathankot, Army has put on standby 30 to 40 Ghatak platoons in the Jammu region to respond to any contingency. As many as 30 to 40 Ghatak platoons in the region have been put on standby to respond to any contingency, defence sources said. A Ghatak platoon usually comprises 20 commandos.
Heavily armed terrorists from across the border attacked the Pathankot airbase on January 2, killing seven security men and injuring over 21. All six terrorists were killed during the operation which lasted a few days.
Following the Pathankot incident, all security forces in the region have stepped up measures to further strengthen security of garrisons and other installations, they said. The measures include additional deployment of forces to dominate the infiltration routes usually taken by terrorists, effective patrolling and employment of surveillance equipment so as to eliminate terrorists before they reach their targets, they added. A multi-disciplinary agency team comprising senior officers of Jammu and Kashmir Police, Central Armed Police Forces, Air Force, Army, Intelligence agencies and other stakeholders would undertake a security audit of all vital establishments and installations in the state by January 22. This was decided at a high-level security meeting, chaired by Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra at the Raj Bhavan here yesterday, following review of the existing arrangements for safety and security of all vital civil and defence establishments and installations in the state.
Consequent to recurring terror attacks since September 2013 and particularly the recent attack on the Air Force base in Pathankot, the Governor had asked top security and defence officials to undertake a time bound review of all existing security arrangements.
The Governor has been repeatedly expressing anxiety over the recurrence of terror attacks from across the Pakistan border. Two such attacks had taken place in 2013, three in 2014, six in 2015 and one in January 2016. . |
