Gujarat CM Patel chairs high-level security review amid India-Pakistan tensions

Gandhinagar, May 9 (IANS) As cross-border tensions between India and Pakistan intensify, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel convened a high-level meeting at the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) in Gandhinagar on Friday to assess the state's security and emergency preparedness, particularly in sensitive border and coastal areas.

The meeting brought together top officials from the Home Department, Disaster Management Authority, and State Police, who briefed the Chief Minister on ongoing coordination efforts and response mechanisms in light of heightened threats.

Key attendees included Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi, Director General of Police Vikas Sahay, Chief Secretary Pankaj Joshi, Revenue Additional Chief Secretary Jayanti Ravi, Relief Commissioner Alok Kumar Pandey, and senior representatives from the Border Security Force (BSF), Indian Coast Guard, and the Army, Navy, and Air Force units stationed in Gujarat. Officials from all state departments, as well as district collectors and police chiefs, joined the meeting via video conference to ensure a unified response framework across the state.

The review follows an emergency meeting chaired by Harsh Sanghavi on Thursday night, after three Pakistani drones were intercepted and neutralised in Gujarat's Kutch district.

Security agencies remain on high alert across Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, and Jammu and Kashmir, as Pakistan continues to escalate its provocations following India's targeted missile strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, conducted in response to the Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also held a telephonic conversation with Chief Minister Patel to review the state's preparedness as a frontline border state.

According to official sources, Prime Minister Modi was briefed on the state's planning and current security measures in response to the volatile situation.

The discussion focused on the proactive steps taken by the state administration to ensure the safety of citizens, particularly in sensitive districts such as Kutch, Banaskantha, Patan, and Jamnagar - all of which share land or coastal boundaries with Pakistan.

--IANS

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