G-20 meet in J&K: Security tightened, schools suspend physical classes

Virendra Pandit 

New Delhi: In view of a series of terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir in recent weeks, the government has tightened security in the border state which is scheduled to host an international meeting on tourism from May 22 to 24 as part of the Group of 20 (G-20) conclaves under India’s current Presidency.

The authorities have directed schools to suspend physical classes until further orders. More than 10 Army and other schools on the highways and in border districts of Rajouri and Poonch have been closed and online classes will be conducted for students until May 25.

Officials have identified terrorists’ infiltration routes and stepped up security to prevent them from crossing over from Pakistan into India.

The third G-20 Tourism Working Group Meeting will be held at the Sher-e-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC) on the banks of the Dal Lake in Srinagar.

Multi-tier security of the Indian Army, Border Security Force, police, and Central Reserve Police Force, besides Village Defense Committees, have been activated along the International Border (IB) and the Line of Control (LoC), officials said.

Security and checkpoints have also been beefed up along the Jammu-Pathankot highway, all vehicles are being checked, and all movements are being monitored, they added.

Police advised the people to remain alert and check their vehicles before starting them.

At Jammu’s entry points, checking of vehicles and frisking of people are being done.

In Poonch and Rajouri, cordon and search operations (CASO) is tracking down terrorists involved in the attacks on April 20 and May 5 in which 10 soldiers, including five paratroopers, were killed.

Pakistan, which is not even a member of G-20, has been trying to sabotage the meeting on tourism. Its Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had, on May 6, tried to score brownie points in Goa.

After attending the two-day Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s Council of Foreign Ministers (SCO-CFM) meeting, he told hand-picked accompanying Pakistani reporters that “We condemn the holding of the G-20 meeting in Srinagar. We will respond to this on time and they will remember it.”

“Do you think the Srinagar meeting is G-20’s endorsement of India’s stand on Kashmir?” a journalist raised a ‘planted’ question to get a pre-fabricated answer.

In fact, ahead of the G-20 meeting in J&K, Pakistan reactivated its trained stateless army of state-sponsored and funded terrorists to launch terror attacks from across the border and kill many, including security personnel.

Why is Pakistan so nervous about the Srinagar meeting?

Because if the delegates get a taste of a peaceful, terror-free, and progressive J&K’s new status and its potential for global tourism, it would be akin to a global endorsement of India’s policy on the border state.

Apart from G-20 members, the event will see the participation of delegates from guest countries and several international organizations. Besides, a major event will be held to highlight film tourism. The visitors will also be going to the ski sites of Gulmarg.

The idea of the tourism event is to showcase and revive the potential for filmmaking in J&K with a focus on single-window clearance and other facilities for foreign crews.

The G-20 meeting on tourism in Srinagar is the third in India. The first working group meeting was held on tourism potential in the Rann of Kutch in Gujarat in February to highlight rural and archaeological tourism through excursions and other events. The second was held at Siliguri, West Bengal, from April 1 to 3.

The fourth meeting of the tourism track group, a ministerial event, will be held in Goa in June where an official ‘Goa Roadmap’ will be issued.

The G-20 member countries comprise Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, Mexico, United Kingdom, United States and the European Union, India’s special invitee guest countries this time include Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, Spain, and the UAE.