C-17 Globemaster Aircraft to Airlift Amarnath Pilgrims out of Kashmir Valley

J&K, August 3, 2019:

Amid the threat of terror in the Valley, the Jammu and Kashmir administration has requested the Indian Air Force to airlift the Amarnath Yatra pilgrims out of the Kashmir valley to places such as Jammu, Pathankot or Delhi from where they can go back home. A request has been received from the state administration for the IAF to carry the pilgrims out of the Kashmir valley in their C-17 transport. The first such batch of the C-17 is likely to fly out of the Kashmir valley shortly.

The C-17s are already operating to rush in paramilitary troops from different parts of the country for precautionary deployment in the Valley.

The C-17 Globemaster can airlift around 230 passengers in one go and takes less time than the Russian Ilyushin-76 to fly between different places.

The Jammu and Kashmir government has issued an advisory to the Amarnath Yatra pilgrims to curtail their pilgrimage and move out of the state at the earliest possible.

The steps have been taken in view of attempts made by the Pakistan-based terrorist groups including the Jaish-e-Mohammed to carry out strikes against the Pilgrims and security forces deployed in the state.

The government's decision to curtail the ongoing Amarnath Yatra in Jammu and Kashmir came after a series of intelligence inputs were received by security agencies warning of multiple terror attacks by Pakistan based Jaish-e-Mohammad.

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