Jammu and Kashmir former chief minister Omar Abdullah tweeted that he found the government's order confusing.

PDP chief and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti said she hoped KAshmir was not being used to distract the country from 'real issues'.

Lt Gen Sarabjit Singh Dhillon, Commander of the 15 Corps, said the situation along the LoC was under control and largely peaceful. He asserted that the forces will not allow Pakistan to disturb peace in Kashmir.

The officer spoke of the threat of improvised explosive devices in the Valley and said it was 'more pronounced' but is being tackled effectively by forces who are conducting regular searches.

He said searches are going on in Shopian where an attempt to attack security forces was made on Thursday night.

During the searches, a mine with Pakistan Ordnance Factory markings was seized.

The forces have have found a huge cache of arms along the Amarnath Yatra route, he said, which included a US M-24 sniper rifle and a mine with markings of the Pakistan Ordnance Factory, the officer said.

The police said that numbers circulating in social media about deployment of forces is exaggerated.

The Jammu and Kashmir government on Friday asked Amarnath yatris and tourists to immediately make necessary arrangements to cut short their stay in the Valley and return as soon as possible in the wake of intelligence inputs of 'specific terror threats' to the pilgrimage.

The advisory was issued by the principal secretary (home). 'Keeping in view the latest intelligence inputs of terror threats, with specific targeting of the Amarnath Yatra, and given the prevailing security situation in the Kashmir Valley, in the interest of safety and security of the tourists and Amarnath Yatris, it is advised that they may curtail their stay in the Valley immediately and take necessary measures to return as soon as possible,' the advisory said.

Hours before the letter started appearing on social media a little after 4 pm, there was a news conference by the army and police in Srinagar in which a senior army officer said the LoC was largely peaceful but there was a threat of IEDs.