This is the first meeting of Ajit Doval on Kashmir after assuming the charge of NSA advisor

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval chaired a high-level meeting Thursday to discuss issues concerning Kashmir, including the forthcoming Amarnath Yatra and pending Assembly election, officials said.

The meeting was attended by Vijay Kumar, Advisor to the Jammu and Kashmir Governor, State Chief Secretary BVR Subrahmanyam, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat, Director General of CRPF RR Bhatnagar and Director General of Police Dilbag Singh, they said.

This is the first meeting of Mr Doval on Kashmir after assuming the charge of National Security Advisor for a second term on June 2.

During the meeting, the prevailing security situation in Kashmir was reviewed, especially in view of the annual Amarnath Yatra which begins on July 1 this year, they said.

The meeting comes days after the Election Commission made an announcement that polls to the state Assembly will be held after the Amarnath Yatra, they said.

In a statement, the poll panel had said it unanimously decided that "holding of assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir shall be considered later in this year".

Rejecting the concerns of security expressed by state officials, the Election Commission was of the view that if the Lok Sabha polls could be held, there should be no issue in holding the elections to the state Assembly.

Jammu and Kashmir does not have an elected dispensation since the PDP-BJP coalition government fell in June 2018.