12 February 2004	Thursday	20 Zilhaj 1424

CHANDIGARH, Feb 11: India plans to increase its paramilitary force in occupied Kashmi to make it the largest in the world, a top official said on Tuesday.

Kanwaljeet Singh, director of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), told reporters that the paramilitary service aimed to deploy a further 42 battalions each consisting of about 1,000 men in the held state.

"While 22 battalions are already under training, 20 more will be raised shortly. This will make the CRPF the largest paramilitary force in the world with a total of 200 battalions," he said.

The additional troops would enable the force to take over Kashmiri militancy, replacing guards on the line of control and even elite commando units stationed in the interior parts of the held state, Mr Singh said.

"After replacing the 54 battalions of the Border Security Force in the valley in a phased manner over a year, the CRPF will be the only force to be engaged in counter insurgency operations," he added.

Kanwaljeet Singh said the paramilitary force was equipping itself for the task with new equipment such as mobile bunkers, light bullet-proof gear, night vision binoculars, explosive detecting devices and light automatic rifles. -AFP