ISLAMABAD, Dec 23: Director-General ISPR Maj-Gen Rashid Qureshi said on Monday that Pakistan was closely monitoring the Indian claims of troop withdrawal.

Talking to PTV, Gen Rashid Qureshi said: “We are monitoring the situation. We do know the Indian offensive formations or their strike formations in the south, the bulk of them has been withdrawn.”

“But at the same time in the north what we call holding formations and the various troops that it had brought in, the bulk is still there and deployed,” he said. “We shall continue to monitor this. We have taken corresponding steps already,” he added.

India claims that its troop withdrawal is complete. Pakistan is closely watching the development but believes there are reasons not to take the Indian claim at face value. Pakistani forces are monitoring the withdrawal process very closely.

When asked about the process of monitoring, Gen Rashid Qureshi said: “This is a classified information but we do monitor and have got very good means of monitoring.”

Irrespective of the slow process of Indian troop withdrawal, Pakistan sees this as a silent victory because of the inability of the enemy to withstand pressure.

Gen Qureshi said: “Indians have suffered tremendously. Great financial resources have been used up in their deployment of forces. In fact some Indian magazines are quoting Rs30,000 million that have been spent not only on the deployment but also in keeping the forces on the borders for ten months.”—APP