(Image source from: Livemint)

Jammu and Kashmir government on Friday issued an advisory to pilgrims and tourists taking part in the Amarnath Yatra to take necessary measures to cut down their stay and make arrangements to return as soon as possible.

The advisory comes days after Indian Army confirmed intelligence inputs that terrorists from Pakistan were planning to interrupt the Amarnath Yatra.

            (Image source from: Twitter/ANI)

"In the last three to four days, we got confirmed intel reports that terrorists are trying to disrupt the Amarnath Yatra. A thorough search was carried out on the routes by a combined team of Army, CRPF and Jammu and Kashmir Police," Chinar Corps Commander Lt General KJS Dhillon said in a joint press conference on Friday along with Director General of Police (DGP) of Jammu and Kashmir Dilbag Singh, CRPF Additional Director General Zulfiqar Hasan, IGP Kashmir SP Pani, and others.

"We had achieved major successes. An M-24 American sniper rifle with a telescope and a landmine with Pakistan ordnance factory markings have been recovered. The route of the Amarnath Yatra was sanitized for three days," he said.

The in-depth analysis by security forces in the Kashmir Valley found that 83 percent of residents who picked up weapons had a record of stone-pelting. Accordingly, the Chinar Corps Commander issued an appeal to the mothers of Kashmiri youth, saying: "If today your child throws stones at security forces for Rs 500, then he will become a terrorist tomorrow."

"In 2019, 7 percent of terrorists have been killed within 10 days of joining (militancy). 64 percent of terrorists who pick up a weapon is eliminated within the first year. So, I request parents to stop your child from doing stone-pelting, as chances are there that he would be eliminated within the first year of picking up his weapon," Dhillon underlined.

He said that security arrangements are in place for Independence Day celebrations, noting that they will be carried out in full gusto and normal fervor.

Reciting similar sentiments, Hasan said that attempts to disrupt Amarnath Yatra were unsuccessful due to the hard work of the security forces.

"Amarnath Yatra has seen an unprecedented turnout and in spite of many threats, it has been peaceful. There have been serious attempts to disrupt the yatra but were unsuccessful due to hard work of security personnel, use of technology and cooperation of people," Hasan, the CRPF Additional Director General, said.

Jammu and Kashmir DGP Singh said that the overall number of active terrorists in the Valley and the Jammu region has come down.

Asked about the increase in troop numbers in the state, Singh said: "We had been into a number of activities since last few months. Our troops that have been deployed did not get a chance to relax for a while."

"We are getting inputs that violence levels are likely to be increased by terrorists. So, we have tried to strengthen the grid on the ground. Also, we have been told that troops must get time to relax. This is the time for turnover. But the grid will be in as much active form as required.

In the meantime, IGP Kashmir Pani said that more than 10 terror attack attempts were made at different places in the Valley."In these IED modules, several terrorists like Munna Lahori before that Kamran, Usman were arrested," he said.

By Sowmya Sangam