Srinagar, October 18 (IANS) Panic has gripped non-local workers in Kashmir after a series of attacks against them and many have now started fleeing the Valley.

A group of non-local workers on Monday gathered at the Srinagar railway station to go back to their native states.

Dinesh Mandal, 60, from Bihar's Bhagalpur has decided to leave. He had been coming to Kashmir regularly for the past 40 years to sell ice creams.

"The situation is bad. Non-locals are being targeted. Vendors and labourers are being targeted. We cannot stay back in Kashmir in these conditions," he said.

"Everybody is scared. Earlier vendors were targeted on the roads, but now people are being attacked in their rooms. We decided to leave after two non-local persons were killed in Kulgam on Saturday," Satish Kumar, another ice cream seller, said.

"Local people tell us to stay back, but how can we stay back in Kashmir when there is a threat of getting killed even in our rooms. If this thorn is taken out and there is peace, we will think of returning to Kashmir," said Kumar.

"There is a lot of fear among the non-local migrants. Our families back home are crying and asking us to return soon. We are very scared after we heard the news of the killing of migrant workers. After every few days people are getting killed here, " said a labourer, who did not wish to be named.

The migrant workers say their families back home are urging them to return. Some of those heading home said they will think of returning to the Valley only after the situation improves.

In the past few days, many civilians have been targeted in Kashmir. On Sunday, two non-local persons were killed and a third person was injured by terrorists in South Kashmir's Kulgam district.

Shah chairs top security meet of DGPs, IGPs, intel officials

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday presided over the National Security Strategy Conference (NSSC) through video conferencing to discuss the prevailing security situation in the country.

Top police sources said all the Director Generals of Police of states, Inspector Generals, selected field officers of the rank of Superintendents of Police and Inspector Generals, heads of Central Police Forces, intelligence agencies and police organisations are participating in this closed-door conference.

Apart from these police officials, the National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Intelligence Bureau (IB) Chief Arvind Kumar and other officials of the IB, the DGPs of border guarding forces BSF, ITBP, and the SSB are also present at the NSSC along with the DG of CRPF, sources said.

According to the officials in the security agencies, during the meeting the prevailing security situation in the country is being discussed and strategy will be chalked out in view of the emerging new challenges threatening the national security.

They also said that the Kashmir situation will be discussed threadbare in the wake of recent individual killings of non-Kashmiris in the Valley and to discuss possible counter measures to effectively prevent these attacks.

The Maoist insurgency in the country will also be part of the discussion, sources added.

The crucial strategic conference gains significance amid several internal security challenges and it is expected that some new guidelines will be formulated to deal with these new challenges, including cross border crimes, drugs and issues threatening the national security at large.

Apart from the J&K issue, presentations prepared by the states on the emerging security challenges in their respective areas will also be discussed in details, a source in the security set up said, adding that many southern states like Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu have received terror inputs by the central agencies, especially after the Taliban take over of Afghanistan in August this year.

The meeting started at 3 p.m. and is likely to continue till late evening, sources said.

---

Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from news agency feeds and has not been edited by The Morung Express. (Source: IANS)