Inter-Ministerial meeting on Jammu and Kashmir begins

An inter-ministerial meeting is on in the Home Ministry on Tuesday to discuss the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act, 2019 which bifurcated the erstwhile state into two Union Territories, said officials.

The meeting, chaired by newly appointed Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla, began in the afternoon and was attended by the Secretaries of the Central government.

It is learnt that the Home Secretary would take stock of the situation in the erstwhile state after the scraping of Article 370 of the Constitution which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

After assuming charge as Home Secretary, this is Bhalla's first formal meeting on Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 and the region's division into two Union Territories -- Jammu and Kashmir with an Assembly and Ladakh without one.

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval's feedback on the Jammu and Kashmir situation would be discussed at the meeting, said the source. Doval had shared a feedback with the Home Ministry after visiting the Kashmir Valley.

The meeting will also be attended by Additional Secretary (J&K Division) Gyanesh Kumar, whose department deals with matters of policy and terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.

Intelligence Bureau Director Arvind Kumar and some officers also visited Jammu and Kashmir last week.