Intel input on Pulwama-like attack on Srinagar National Highway, security forces on high alert

Security forces are on high alert in Jammu & Kashmir after an intelligence agency issued an alert regarding Pulwama-like terror attack on Srinagar National Highway.  

According to reports, the intelligence inputs suggest that terrorists may use a motorbike to carry out a blast on the highway.

The government has decided that the Jammu-Srinagar highway, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with rest of the country, will remain closed for civilian traffic twice a week i.e. on Wednesday and Sunday till May 31 to facilitate smooth movement of security convoys. The ban on civilian movement will be in place from 4 am to 5 pm.

The government’s decision has drawn sharp criticism, especially from the mainstream parties and business community in the Valley. 

The alert has been issued days after Pulwama terror attack in which 40 personnel travelling in a bus, part of a convoy from Jammu to Srinagar, were killed by a suicide bomber as he exploded a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (IED).

The CRPF cavalcade that came under attack on February 14 had seventy-eight vehicles and the ill-fated bus was fifth in line. Pakistan-based banned terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed had claimed responsibility for the attack.

Meanwhile, the CRPF has decided to procure a new fleet of mine protected vehicles (MPVs) and small 30-seater buses to ensure safety of its troop convoys in the Kashmir Valley.

The paramilitary has also decided to enhance the number of its bomb detection and disposal squads (BDDS) for its about 65 battalions based in the Kashmir Valley for anti-terror and law and order duties.