SRINAGAR: The Indian army has vacated all hospital, school and college buildings in Indian-administered Kashmir in a further bid to lower its profile in the region, Defence Minister A.K. Antony said on Wednesday.
India has recently pulled 30,000 troops out of Kashmir following a fall in militant attacks in the Muslim-majority region bordering Pakistan, where the strong military presence has alienated many moderate residents. —File Photo
He also revealed that India’s home ministry had ordered federal police to take over security of a key road connecting the Kashmiri summer capital Srinagar with India from the military.
The 300-kilometre highway – a main conduit for military convoys – winds through the Himalayan foothills and is prone to insurgent attacks.
“This has been done to reduce the visibility of the army, without in anyway diluting out counter-militant grid,” said Antony, who was on a visit to review the security situation in the region.
The Indian army had commandeered a number of hospital and school buildings in Kashmir after it assumed counter-insurgency duties in 1990, a year after the insurgency began.
India has recently pulled 30,000 troops out of Kashmir following a fall in militant attacks in the Muslim-majority region bordering Pakistan, where the strong military presence has alienated many moderate residents.
“The process of winning hearts and minds of people is never an easy one,” Antony said. —AFP
Popularity: unranked [?]
