NEW DELHI, Aug 5: The Indian army is ready to relocate troops from the “hinterland” of Jammu and Kashmir if the state government feels confident about police keeping law and order in rural areas, India’s army chief Gen J.J. Singh has said.
“Troops involved in law and order duties can be adjusted depending on the level of violence. If the situation improves then they can be reduced. We are in the hinterland in support of the state government,” Gen Singh was quoted as telling the Sunday Express. There are no troops at present in the cities or other urban areas.
Over 75,000 army personnel, mostly from 63 battalions of Rashtriya Rifles, are currently involved in ‘hinterland operations’ in Jammu and Kashmir, the daily said.
Hinterland operations, in essence, involve control of key geographical features, protecting lines of communications and supporting law and order in the rural areas.
“We can consider relocating troops if the state government tells us so. We did withdraw from Punjab and Mizoram after the violence levels came down,” said Gen Singh, who retires in September.
He ruled out any thinning of troops on the Line of Control till the border is delineated and defined. Echoing a similar view on troops involved in counter-infiltration in the state, he said: “Our counter-infiltration (CI) deployment is dynamic and keeps changing depending on the requirement in the state. Troops involved in CI duties cannot be relocated as infiltration levels from across the LoC are comparable to the past years.”
General Singh reserved his opinion on Siachen and the internal security situation, but sounded satisfied on his stint as the army chief. He wants his successor, Lt-Gen Deepak Kapoor, not to compromise on military preparedness at any point. Gen Singh said: “During my two-and-a-half years, we were operationally ready at all the times as this is our primary job.”
