Parliamentary panel recommends ‘integrated security and surveillance framework’ for tourist spots in Jammu and Kashmir

A Parliamentary panel has recommended an "integrated security and surveillance framework" for all major tourist destinations in Jammu and Kashmir with centralised monitoring facilities.

In its report on Administrative Governance, Socio-Economic Development and Border Security and Internal Security of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Border Security Management and Preparedness in the UT of Ladakh, the panel said clear inter-agency standard operating procedures be prescribed and reviewed before every peak tourist season to ensure a coordinated and timely response to any security-related incident.

The recommendations came in the backdrop of the terror attack on tourists on April 22 last year in the scenic Baisaran valley of Pahalgam, where 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed by terrorists who had taken shelter in the higher locations.