Poonch, Sep 14, KNT: Director General of Police Nalin Prabhat, accompanied by Inspector General of Police Jammu Zone Tejinder Singh, reviewed the ongoing security operations in Poonch district amid an extended search operation in the Surankote belt, police said.

District Police Poonch said the DGP reviewed the ongoing operations in the district, particularly in the context of the presence and movement of members of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, as described by police.

The review comes days after joint cordon-and-search operations were launched in the upper reaches of Surankote following inputs about suspicious movement. Security forces have been conducting searches in forested areas around Mehrote, including Jhotian Wali and Dhook Dhoba, with Army units and the Special Operations Group of J&K Police involved in the operation.

Gunshots were reported from the Doba Gali area of Mehrote during the operation on September 7. Officials, however, had not established whether the firing involved an exchange with armed suspects or precautionary firing by security personnel in the forested terrain.

The latest review by the senior police officers comes against the backdrop of heightened security activity in the border district, with forces continuing searches in forest and upper reaches of the area.

Separately, the State Investigation Agency conducted searches at locations in Mandi and Surankote on September 12 in connection with an investigation into alleged propagation of secessionist narratives and radicalisation, including alleged communications with persons across the Line of Control.  [KNT]

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