More troops to be reduced in Kashmir

JAMMU - Defence Minister A.K. Antony Tuesday hinted at a further reduction of troops in Jammu and Kashmir in the light of the “improved situation” in the state, which is battling terrorist violence for the past 20 years.

This would be in addition to the 30,000 troops that have been moved out of Jammu and Kashmir in the past two years.

These indications became known when Antony told a meeting at the unified headquarters here that the state police would have to take over the responsibility of the security of cities and major towns of the state.

The defence minister also made it clear that the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) would take over the responsibility of the road opening parties and security of National Highway 1-A, the 294-km-long Jammu-Srinagar highway that is lifeline of the Valley and also for the troops stationed in the Kashmir and Ladakh divisions.

Antony said with the improvement in the security situation, the time had come for the state police to be given far greater responsibilities, particularly in major towns, in tackling terrorism in the state.

However, “the handing over of the responsibility must be meticulously planned and undertaken in a gradual and phased manner”, a defence ministry statement quoted Antony as saying.

He said on the request of the defence ministry, the home ministry had issued instructions to the CRPF to take over the entire responsibility of opening of roads on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway 1-A from January 15.

“This has been done to reduce the visibility of the army, without in any way diluting our counter-terrorist grid,” Antony said.

He said the synergy and hard work put in by the various security agencies, as also the local people, has considerably brought down the “level of violence” in Kashmir, though the infiltration attempts had increased.

“The year 2010 may prove to be a crucial one as forces inimical to stability and peace in J&K would make all-out efforts to neutralise the gains of 2008 and 2009, when the state witnessed considerable improvement in the security situation.

“The incidents of the first week of January in the Valley are indicative of the shape of things to come,” the defence minister said, referring to the terrorist siege in Srinagar’s Lal Chowk area that lasted some 23 hours before the security forces gunned down the two fidayeen attackers.