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Phased Withdrawal of
Army From J&K: Zee

A correspondent in New Delhi

The Cabinet Committee on Security has decided to withdraw the Indian Army from its internal security duties in Jammu and Kashmir, Zee News reported on Wednesday. The withdrawal, to be executed in phases, is likely to be completed in five years.

The channel said the army would be replaced by additional battalions of the Central Reserve Police Force and the Rashtriya Rifles. It estimated that 209 extra battalions of CRPF and Rashtriya Rifles would have to be constituted for this at a cost of Rs 70,000 million.

Neither Defence Minister George Fernandes nor his personal assistant Ashok Subramanyam were available for comment. External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh, who is a member of the CCS, too could not contacted despite repeated attempts.

Tilakraj Kakkar, former special secretary in the ministry of home affairs, said the withdrawal of army from Jammu and Kashmir would be a time-consuming affair.

The Rashtriya Rifles comprises crack commandos of the army, but they report not to the army but the ministry of home affairs.

Lt General (retd) Afsir Karim, who served in Kashmir for several years, underlined that while he was not aware of the decision to withdraw the army from Jammu and Kashmir, the decision could mean two things. a) The situation in the state was likely to witness a great improvement. b) The Vajpayee government is pitching in everything to show the international community that it is leaving no stone unturned to push its peace initiative in Jammu and Kashmir.

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COMPLETE COVERAGE
The J&K Peace Process

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