J&K restricts civilian vehicle movement on national highway after Pulwama, Banihal attacks

Administration reserves Sundays and Wednesdays for security forces' convoy movement on Jammu-Baramulla national highway. Move to last till 31 May.

Soldiers near the bomb attack site in Pulwama | PTI file photo

Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir administration Wednesday declared that civilian traffic will not be allowed on the Jammu-Baramulla national highway on two days of the week over the next two months. This comes nearly two months after the Pulwama terror attack on a CRPF convoy.

In a notification, the administration has said that till 31 May 2019, the highway will be solely reserved for the movement of security forces’ convoys, between 4 am and 5 pm on Sundays and Wednesdays.

In the Pulwama terror strike on 14 February, a suicide bomber had rammed an explosives-laden SUV into a CRPF convoy, killing 40 personnel. Just last week, another CRPF convoy came under attack at Banihal in Ramban but there were no casualties.

“Keeping in view the large movement of security forces on the national highway during the Parliamentary elections and associated possibility of any fidayeen terror attack on security forces’ convoys, the state government has notified specified days in a week for the movement of security forces from Srinagar to Jammu,” reads the government statement. “During these days, no civilian traffic would be allowed on National Highway.”

The statement also said that the prohibition will be from Baramulla through Srinagar, Qazigund, Jawahar-Tunnel, Banihal and Ramban till Udhampur.

Administration asks police to evolve necessary procedure

The government also directed the local administrations and the police to evolve necessary procedures for the move along the lines of what is done during “curfew days”. These restrictions will remain in force till 31 May 2019.

“It would be recalled that the Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, during his visit to Kashmir post-Pulwama terror attack in February 2019, had announced that no civilian traffic movement would be allowed during the convoy days,” the statement said. “Besides, a few days ago on 30 March, there was a possible fidayeen attack on another security force convoy at Banihal.”