National Security Guard (NSG) has increased its presence in the Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab, media reports said on Tuesday. This presence is to counter emerging threat from neighbouring country, reports added.
S S Deswal, director general of the elite commando force told a news channel that while a functional hub is already in place in Srinagar, work is on to set up one in Amritsar and Pathankot.
“From the last one year, we have a functional hub in Srinagar and also respond to emergency situations in Jammu and Kashmir, keeping in view the security environment. Our neighbouring country does not behave with desired ethics and there is mischief from the other side. So to cater to those situations, a functional hub has been established in Srinagar and we are in the process of deciding to establish the latest hub in the vicinity of Amritsar and Pathankot."
Sources said Punjab government has been asked to acquire land in the vicinity of Amritsar and Pathankot to build the NSG hub.
The NSG was first deployed in Kashmir ahead of the Amaranth Yatra in 2018. Top NSG officials said the commando force has increased its capability in the Valley since then and a fully functional hub means commandos can be deployed at a very short notice. "The idea is to reduce distance. We have trained our boys to operate in rural, snow-bound areas of Kashmir as well," media quoted a senior official as having said.