Srinagar, 20 February (CNI): The central government is considering the issue of removing the army from some rural areas of the Kashmir Valley and sending them back to the barracks, but no final decision has been taken in this regard yet, this proposal has been presented regarding the holding of assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir.
In the first phase, it is proposed to withdraw the army from three districts of Jammu and three districts of the valley and transfer them to barracks, including Srinagar, Budgam and Ganderbal districts, apart from this, the proposal to withdraw the army from Jammu’s Samba Udhampur and Jammu is under consideration.
According to Current News of India (CNI), the central government is mulling a proposal to completely withdraw the army from the interior of the valley in a phased manner.
Reports say that before or soon after the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, troops can be moved back to barracks from rural and remote areas of the Kashmir valley, There are many army camps in the rural areas of Kashmir at present, the reports further stated that the proposal to withdraw the army from the interior areas has been analyzed and it only needs the approval of the Government of India. If approved, the army presence will be only along the Line of Control (LoC).
Reports said that it is also suggested that the CRPF will recruit to meet the challenges of both law and order and counter-militancy operations in Jammu and Kashmir.
It maintains a strength of about 1.3 lakh personnel across Jammu and Kashmir, of which about 80,000 are posted on the border. About 40,000-45,000 personnel of the Rashtriya Rifles are responsible for counter-terrorism operations in the interior of Kashmir. The CRPF is said to have around 60,000 personnel in Jammu and Kashmir, of which over 45,000 are stationed in the Kashmir Valley, Jammu and Kashmir Police is 83,000 strong.
Apart from this, a few companies of other Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) are deployed in the valley. CAPF figures fluctuate depending on the security situation in the valley. The idea behind the talks is that Kashmir not only should normality be claimed, but it should also be revealed.
The government claims that incidents of terrorist violence and deaths of security personnel in Jammu and Kashmir have decreased by almost 50 per cent since August 5, 2019, compared to the same period before. A Union Home Ministry official said that Since the August 2019 verdicts, violence in the Valley has steadily declined. It should be noted that in the year 2014, the central government had announced to consider the proposal to withdraw the army from various areas of Jammu and Kashmir, including Samba, Udhampur and Jammu districts of Jammu and three districts of central Kashmir in the Kashmir Valley, Srinagar, Budgam and Ganderbal. There was a proposal to recall the army, but at that time the matter was in doubt in view of the parliamentary elections. (CNI)