Tourists Allowed In J&K From Thursday As Governor Lifts Restriction After 2 Months

Tourists warned by the government to leave Jammu and Kashmir just days before the state was stripped of its special status will be welcomed back from Thursday, Governor Satya Pal Malik said on Monday. The Governor, in a major step towards restoring normalcy in the restive region, recalled a security advisory issued over two months ago after holding a security and situation review meeting with his advisors and the chief secretary. There were no further details about why the advisory would be lifted this week.

“The Governor directed that the Home Department’s advisory asking tourists to leave the valley be lifted immediately. This will be done w.e.f. 10.10.2019,” the Jammu and Kashmir administration’s information department said. The government had asked the tourists to curtail their stay in the Valley “immediately” soon after it took the step to call off the annual Amarnath Yatra on August 2, citing “intelligence inputs of terror threats”. Within three days of the move, the Parliament nullified Article 370 of the Constitution that accorded special status to the state and divided it into two union territories.