Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited the International Border (IB) in Jammu on Sunday evening and lauded the bravery of soldiers guarding India’s frontiers. Shah, who is on a three-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir, interacted with BSF Jawans and said they should protect the country without any worry as the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will take care of their families.

The Home Minister also visited the last border hamlet of Makwal and told residents that the Modi government is committed to providing every facility and ensuring development in the border areas. Shah, along with Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, visited Makwal border Out Post (BoP), where he met the BSF Jawans and spent some time with them, officials said.

He was received by the BSF’s Additional Director General (ADG) N S Jamwal. The minister also presented some gifts to jawans and interacted with them, they said. During the interaction, he praised the dedication of the security personnel towards defending India.

“On the behalf of all the countrymen, I salute the bravery of our security forces and express my gratitude," Shah said in a tweet later. The minister said that the central government under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi is fully devoted to the welfare of the security personnel guarding the country and their families.

“I want to tell everyone that you should protect the country without any worry. The Modi government will take care of your families", Shah said. Shah later visited Makwal hamlet, the last village on IB in Jammu to know about the living conditions of the villagers, they said.

He interacted with villagers and admired their resilience. Shah also visited border bunkers, where the residents take shelter during cross-border shelling.

“As much as a citizen living in the national capital has the right to the resources of the country, so do the citizens living in the border villages (on the resources of the country)", he said. The home minister on Sunday began the second leg of his three-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir by inaugurating a multi-disciplinary research centre and laying the foundation stone of the third phase of the Indian Institute of Technology at Jagti on the outskirts of Jammu city.

Shah said that nobody can stop the era of development that has started in the Union Territory. “It’s the land of temples of Mata Vaishno Devi, of Prem Nath Dogra, the land of Syama Prasad Mukherjee’s sacrifice. We won’t let any disruption of peace in Jammu and Kashmir," he said.

This is Shah’s first visit to Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019. On the first day of his visit on Saturday, Shah met families of soldiers and civilians killed in a spate of terrorist attacks in the Valley throughout the month. He also addressed a youth conclave.

Shah held a security review meeting in Srinagar where anti-terror measures were discussed.