Indian army soldiers patrol along the border fence at the India-Pakistan Line of Control (LoC) on the forward post of Poonch district [File: Jaipal Singh/EPA]

Four terrorists were killed in Jammu and Kashmir in the last 24 hours even as union home minister Amit Shah held a high-level meeting with national security adviser Ajit Doval in wake of increased cross-border drone activity and threat from sticky bombs. Three of the men killed were Pakistanis, while the fourth is being identiied, police said.

The Centre is pushing a “zero tolerance” policy against cross-border infiltration with Shah advocating that this was necessary so as to fulfil Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a “prosperous and peaceful J&K”.

According to police, the army, central armed police forces and Jammu and Kashmir Police conducted simultaneous operations and killed the four terrorists. A massive cache of weapons, including AK-56, grenades and ammunition, was also recovered, police added.

Shah has held at least two top-level meetings in 15 days amid security preparations for this year’s Amarnath Yatra in the Kashmir Valley. The central agenda of Tuesday’s meeting was better use of technology by armed forces to counter new security challenges such as drones and sticky bombs.

A separate meeting was also chaired by the home secretary, who interacted with heads of National Investigation Agency, Central Industrial Security Force, National Security Guard and Border Security Force. They, too, discussed the use of technology to deal with terror threats.

Earlier in the week, Shah had held a meeting with Doval and RAW chief Samnat Goel among other top officials. They had discussed the security situation in the union territory, which has witnessed a spate of killings since May. Shah had also convened a high-level meeting on June 3 to discuss the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir and to take stock of the arrangements for the annual pilgrimage, which is being held after a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic.