Any troop cut in J&K foolhardy, says Army chief

NEW DELHI: In a clear signal that politics should not be allowed to dictate security in J&K, Army chief General Deepak Kapoor has made it very clear that it would be foolhardy to go in for any troop reduction in the terrorism-hit state at this stage.

“Overall violence levels in J&K are down by almost half as compared to the corresponding period last year. But there has been a large increase in infiltration attempts over the last month. After relative peace, violence levels are once again going up in J&K,’’ said Gen Kapoor, at the end of Army commanders’ conference on Saturday.

This came even as defence minister A K Antony was in J&K on Saturday to review the internal security situation, amid fresh demands for troop cuts by Mufti Mohammed Sayeed and party.

‘‘Militancy remains a danger in J&K, as also North-East, with it being calibrated from outside (read Pakistan). There is an attempt to push in as many infiltrators as possible in September-October before the mountain passes close for the winter,’’ said Gen Kapoor.

The obvious aim is to have enough militant cadres in place in the Valley, before snow blocks the mountain passes, to create trouble during the coming winter. ‘‘It’s important to maintain force levels in J&K to keep violence under check...the time is not right for troop reduction,’’ said Gen Kapoor.

The Army would only be ‘‘more than happy’’ to return to the barracks, to train for its primary purpose of war-fighting, once normalcy returns to J&K and the government decided it was no longer required there, he added.

As for human rights violations, Gen Kapoor said his troops had been given clear instructions to ensure nil or minimum ‘‘collateral damage’’ during counter-insurgency operations.