No vehicle to be parked outside security installations

In the backdrop of the recent deadly car bomb attack on a CRPF convoy in Pulwama, security agencies in Kashmir have decided not to allow parking of civilian vehicles outside security installations.

As part of a slew of security measures no vehicle – four-wheeler or two-wheeler – will be allowed to park outside army camps, police stations and CRPF camps, along the highway and elsewhere “for security reasons.”

A senior police official said heightened security measures have been taken to thwart Pulwama like attack being. “It is part of the standard operating procedure (SOP) to maintain an extra level of alertness as there are always apprehensions that militants may strike again,” he said.

The officer said the security measures have been taken “actually for the safety of the general public.”

“Keeping civilians away from the forces’ camps is part of our strategy to avoid civilian causalities during militant attacks. We seek public cooperation in this regard,” he said.

“Alert sentry will not allow parking of any private or public vehicle outside any security installation. He will issue warnings by blowing his whistle and if the person continues to ignore repeated warnings, the sentry can open fire if suspicion increases,” he warned.

Pertinently, union home minister Rajnath Singh during his visit to Srinagar last month had sought people’s cooperation in halting movement of civilian vehicles while the forces’ convoys move along the highways.

“From now onwards, during convoy movement civilian vehicles would be stopped till forces’ cavalcades pass off smoothly. Here people have to bear with us as this will cause a bit of inconvenience to them and I regret that,” Rajnath told media men here after chairing a high-level security meet.


During 1990s when the militancy was at its peak, the movement of vehicles was restricted when security convoys moved. They were lifted after a government led by the Peoples’ Democratic Party took office in 2002, promising a “healing touch” for the conflict-torn population. The fresh restrictions could increase public resentment against the security forces.

Adil Ahmad Dar, a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militant from Pulwama in south Kashmir had rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into a bus carrying troops of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), killing 49 men on February 14.