Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed on Wendesday admitted there were security lapse in Nadimarg where militants shot dead 24 Kashmiri Pandits on Sunday.

He said he has convened a high-level meeting in Srinagar to take a fresh look on the security situation in the state, especially in minority pockets.

Winding up the discussion on the governor's address in the assembly, he said even the army, which was present one-and-a-half km away from the site of the massacre, could not respond to the situation immediately.

"While similar unfortunate incidents had taken place in the past at Wandhama, Chhattisinghpora, Prankote, our inadequate response to the situation is indeed a matter of concern. All these things need to be sorted out to make our fight against terror more effective and result-oriented so that such incidents are pre-empted," he said.

He said his government would take confidence-building measures to dispel the sense of insecurity among Kashmiri Pandits following the Nadimarg massacre. The state police would be geared up to meet the challenge of militancy in a more effective manner.

The massacre was aimed at derailing the peace process initiated by his government, Sayeed said. "The enemies of peace are exploiting our vulnerabilities to achieve their nefarious designs. We have to plug the loopholes and remain ever vigilant against their machinations."

The police on their part denied that security was downgraded around localities inhabited by minority community in the state during or after the assembly elections.

"At no stage whether during assembly elections or post assembly elections the security was downgraded around minority inhabited localities in Kashmir or elsewhere in the state", a spokesman said reacting to media reports in this regard.