NEW DELHI, Oct 15: Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee will head a strategic meeting on Wednesday on the issue of reducing the number of troops massed on the border with Pakistan, officials said.

The meeting will be attended by his security cabinet and members of policy-making bodies such as the National Security Advisory Board (NSAB) and Strategic Policy Group, they said.

The conclave will be briefed by top military officials and members of the secret service on the “prevailing situation” on the border and on the levels of success in stemming the flow of militants from Pakistan, one official said.

A section of the NSAB has been pressing the Indian government hard for military strikes on alleged militant training camps in Azad Kashmir.

“Any withdrawal of troops will entirely depend on the last-minute feedback from our intelligence agencies and the military on the situation on the ground,” a senior defence ministry source said.

“But one core issue that would be factored in the meeting is the onset of winter when the main infiltration routes into Kashmir are anyway blocked by snow,” the source added.

Bal Thackeray, a highly influential rightwing Hindu leader, has warned Vajpayee against troops withdrawal and cited last month’s attack on a popular temple as one of the many reasons to keep security up.

“The thought of withdrawing security forces is idiotic. Despite a 24-hour vigil on the border, there is large-scale infiltration from Pakistan’s side”, Thackeray alleged.

His radical Hindu Shiv Sena is not only a key legislative ally of Vajpayee’s coalition government but also holds sway over millions of Hindus across western India and has massive pockets of sympathizers across the nation.

“Only two terrorists created havoc in Akshardham temple and can one imagine what will happen if war with Pakistan breaks out?” the Sena supremo said.

Thackeray, addressing his followers, said although the Sena had faith in Vajpayee, he was “fed up with statements only that India will not tolerate any act of terrorism and wage a fight to finish the menace”.

“I don’t mean that India should invade Pakistan but we must effectively counter threats posed by Pakistan’s ISI (secret service) and militant outfits like Lashkar-i-Taiba,” he said on the eve of the security meet.

Despite the troop deployment and tensions, the Indian army recently relaxed rules to allow soldiers to go on leave.—AFP