A senior Indian official said Friday that Indian government may reduce by 25 percent the presence of security forces in the populated areas of India-controlled Kashmir in the next 12 months, reported the Indo-Asian News Service.
Indian Home Secretary G.K. Pillai said at a seminar that this might be part of confidence building measures to bring peace to the restive region, said the report.
However, Indian Army Chief General V. K. Singh said hours later the army does not feel the need to "cut down" their forces in India-controlled Kashmir, according to a report by the Press Trust
of India.
"We have not yet felt that we have to cut down our forces. If they want to cut down para-military and police forces, I won't say anything," he was quoted as saying.
Paramilitary and police forces are under the command of the Home Ministry.
"So when that is done, it will be ensured that extra pressure is not brought on our already-stretched deployments there," Singh was quoted as saying.
The proposal to further reduce the presence of security forces comes after a calm returned to the Kashmir Valley following the months of unrest in summer, in which 112 civilians were killed in the firing by security forces on stone-pelting protesters.