High alert: Amarinder to stay put in border districts for three days
CHANDIGARH: Punjab has put its border districts on high alert following the Indian Air Force (IAF) strikes on terror camps in Pakistan, undertaken by India as a retaliatory measure in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack.
Chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh has ordered a spate of measures as part of the state’s preparedness to deal with any contingency in view of the latest developments.
Deputy commissioners (DCS) and senior superintendents of police (SSPS) of the border areas have been asked to put in place all contingency plans to ensure the protection and safety of people.
As a confidence-building step, Amarinder has decided to stay in the sensitive border region for on-ground assessment of the situation.
He will leave for Pathankot on Wednesday morning, travel by road to villages in border areas of the district and stay in Amritsar at night. The next day, he will visit Tarn Taran and spend the night in Faridkot. The CM will return to Chandigarh on Friday after visiting border areas of Ferozepur district, said an official spokesman.
A high-level law and order review meeting chaired by Amarinder was of the view that there was no need for panic and has decided against any move to evacuate the residents of the border areas. All aspects of the current situation were discussed with the top brass of the police, civil administration, and other senior officials, the spokesman said.
The CM discussed all aspects of the current situation with the top brass of the police and civil administration, including CM’S chief principal secretary Suresh Kumar, chief secretary Karan Avtar Singh, home secretary NS Kalsi, DGP Dinkar Gupta and DGP (intelligence) VK Bhawara.
The state government was in touch with the Union home and defence ministries to remain abreast of the situation. Amarinder also spoke to Union home minister Rajnath Singh on the situation.
PUNJAB CM HAILS AIR STRIKES, IAF
Earlier, he tweeted his full support for the strikes. “Great job by the #Indianairforce. The #Iafstrikes have sent the much needed signal to Pakistan and the terrorists it’s harbouring don’t think you can get away with acts like the #Pulwamaattack. Bravo to the #IAF men and my full support for the action,” he wrote.
Immediately after the Pulwama attack on a CRPF convoy, Amarinder had called for strong retaliatory action and said that the Congress would support any course of action decided by the central government. “They have killed 41, we should kill 82 of theirs,” he had said.