Home Minister Amit Shah on 2-day visit to J&K from May 29

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will arrive in Jammu on Thursday, marking his first visit to Jammu and Kashmir since the launch of Operation Sindoor against Pakistan, BJP leaders said on Wednesday.

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Ashok Koul, General Secretary (Organisation) of the J&K BJP, confirmed that the Home Minister will be in the Union Territory on May 29 and 30.

Koul said Shah is scheduled to visit Poonch on Friday to meet the families of those killed in Pakistani shelling. He added that the Home Minister will also chair a high-level security review meeting in Jammu, which will be attended by senior officials from the J&K Police, paramilitary forces, and the Army.

“The Home Minister is not visiting Kashmir on this trip,” Koul stated.

This visit comes a little over a month after a major terror attack in Pahalgam on April 22. Shah had visited the attack site in the Baisaran meadows the following day to assess the situation.

Last week, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi visited Jammu and met with victims of cross-border shelling in Poonch. He described the destruction as a “big tragedy” and pledged to raise the issue at the national level.

Earlier, a five-member delegation from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) also toured the border districts of Poonch and Rajouri, where they interacted with local residents and victims.

This month, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh made his first visit to the Union Territory since the launch of Operation Sindoor.

The Poonch sector has witnessed intense artillery and mortar shelling since India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting nine terror hubs in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). In retaliation, Pakistan carried out a series of artillery attacks, missile strikes, and drone assaults between May 7 and 10, killing 28 people — including 13 in Poonch district — and injuring over 70 across J&K. Thousands were forced to flee from areas near the Line of Control (LoC) and the International Border, taking shelter in government-run relief camps.

Meanwhile, security has been heightened across the region ahead of the Home Minister’s visit.