India has announced it will withdraw about 15,000 troops from Jammu and Kashmir, in the country’s far north, in a bid to defuse tensions with Pakistan. The Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, has just concluded a two-day visit to the region, where the Indian army has been battling a separatist insurgency since 1989. Singh told a regional summit in New Delhi Friday 30 October that the countries of the region had “to overcome the burden of history” to achieve peace.
Indian authorities said the region’s security situation had improved to the extent that responsibility could increasingly be left to the police. The Indian army played down the move, saying it had more to do with sending a message to the main separatist group in Jammu and Kashmir, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, than relations with Pakistan. They pointed out that the redeployment was from the Jammu region, rather than the more conflictive Kashmir area.
Pakistan and India have fought three wars over the region since independence and division in 1947. Pakistan has been criticized for keeping most of its army on the border with India, and ignoring the threat posed to Pakistan itself by Taliban insurgents within its own frontiers. India has repeatedly accused Pakistan of arming and training militants to fight in Kashmir. Singh said 29 October that India was not satisfied with the investigation Pakistan had conducted into last November’s deadly attack on Mumbai, India which was launched from Pakistani territory. Daily Times, New York Times, Times of India
