|
Army to stop troop withdrawal from Kashmir? |
 |
Following the truce violations, military sources said the withdrawal of Indian soldiers from forward positions along the LoC might be put on hold for some time.
The Indian Army began pulling out some of its troops from Kashmir on Nov 17 last year to coincide with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s first visit to the State.
There are over 250,000 Indian soldiers and paramilitary troopers deployed in Kashmir and the army has declined to provide the number of troops that have been withdrawn so far.
Following a review of the situation in the aftermath of the violation of the ceasefire, the Indian Army might halt troop withdrawal from the frontiers, the sources said.
The sources said the violations might portend a possibility of fresh tensions, especially when the Pakistani side wants to push in over 4,000 militants across the LoC.
“The Indian Army does not want to take any chances at any stage,” said a source.
“Pakistan is desperate to push in the militants to keep militancy alive in Kashmir. It does not want the militants to stay on its soil and become the cause of bigger problems, domestically and internationally.”
This situation, army officers feel, would force the Pakistan Army to go in for more provocative actions to push in infiltrators.
“And India will need more than the physical barrier of the fencing along the LoC to frustrate these designs. Troops are needed to fight infiltrators and foil their attempts,” said an officer.
|
