Troops to be withdrawn from Kashmir

    New Delhi: Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday said that India is withdrawing a brigade from Jammu and Kashmir following "much improvement" in the situation there. Earlier today, a government official had said that India would withdraw as many as 15,000 troops from Jammu and Kashmir in a phased manner. Mukherjee told newspersons on the sidelines of an Army conference here, that a brigade withdrawn from Jammu and Kashmir would be redeployed in the northeast, where a number of separatist insurgencies still exist. Army officials said that a brigade of 3000 troops would be moved from the valley soon. Mentioning redeployment as a routine exercise undertaken after review of the situation, Mukherjee said, last year the troops were withdrawn voluntarily. Chief of the Army Staff, General JJ Singh said the brigade to be redeployed in the northeast had already been withdrawn from Kashmir. The brigade was posted south of the Pir Panjal and now would be redeployed at Darjeeling and Kalimpong in the Himalayan belt in West Bengal, he said. He said that subject to improvement of situation in the state, there would be a further possibility of troop withdrawal from Jammu and Kashmir.

     Earlier, on January 13 at a press conference ahead of the Army Day, General Singh had ruled out any reduction in troop level in Jammu and Kashmir in view of fact that terrorists were still active in the region and the infrastructure to support their subversive activities, still intact in Pakistan. General Singh had then said that infiltration by militants from across the Line of Control (LoC) was continuing despite heightened vigil by the Indian troops.

Pak says it would welcome troop reduction from J-K

     Islamabad: Pakistan has said it would welcome India's plan to withdraw troops from Jammu and Kashmir, if it was part of the significant reduction of troops from the region. "If the withdrawal is part of significant reduction in Jammu and Kashmir then we would welcome it," said Pakistan Foreign Office Spokesperson Tasneem Aslam, adding that till now the federal government has not received any intimation in this regard. About Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf's earlier statement that he was disappointed with the pace of progress, she said the talks with India have not been up to Pakistan's expectations, "However, it does not mean that no progress has been made," she added. Aslam said that there was a need by both India and Pakistan to remain engaged in the dialogue process, adding that the resolution of the Kashmir dispute required required "sincerity, flexibility and courage", reports The News. "The dispute needs to be addressed in a very forthright manner. We should proceed with a solution acceptable to the three stakeholders," she further said, adding that the third round of the Composite Dialogue process was underway.

   Earlier Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee said today that India was withdrawing a brigade from Jammu and Kashmir following "much improvement" in the situation there. Mukherjee told newspersons on the sidelines of a Territorial Army conference here, that a brigade withdrawn from Jammu and Kashmir would be redeployed in the northeast, where a number of separatist insurgencies still exist. Army officials said that a brigade of 3000 troops had been moved from the valley. Mentioning redeployment as a routine exercise undertaken after review of the situation, Mukherjee said, last year the troops were withdrawn voluntarily. Chief of the Army Staff, General JJ Singh said the brigade to be redeployed in the northeast had already been withdrawn from Kashmir. The brigade was posted south of the Pir Panjal and now would be redeployed at Darjeeling and Kalimpong in the Himalayan belt in West Bengal, he said. He said that subject to improvement of situation in the state, there would be a further possibility of troop withdrawal from Jammu and Kashmir.

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