India: As 10,000 Additional Troops Are Sent to Kashmir, Mehbooba Criticises Centre

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The home ministry said the personnel will be deployed to strengthen the counter-insurgency grid and law and order duties in the Valley.

As 10,000 Additional Troops Are Sent to Kashmir, Mehbooba Criticises Centre
CRPF personnel patrol a street in downtown Srinagar on February 23, 2019. Photo: Reuters/Danish Ismail
The Wire Staff

The Wire Staff SECURITY 27/JUL/2019

New Delhi: The Centre has ordered rushing of about 10,000 Central forces personnel to the Kashmir valley in order to strengthen counter-insurgency operations and law and order duties there, officials said on Saturday.

They said the Union home ministry has ordered the deployment of 100 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) on July 25 on an “immediate” basis.

Officials said that 100 more companies are expected to be sent to the valley.

One CAPF company comprises about 100 personnel.

The latest units will be drawn from the CRPF (50 companies), SSB (30) and ITBP and BSF will contribute 10 each, they said.

The ministry has said that these personnel will be deployed to strengthen the counter-insurgency grid and law and order duties in the Kashmir Valley, they said.

Also read: Behind the Spurt in Recent Encounters Lies the Flow of Recruits to Militancy in Kashmir

They are being air lifted and sent by trains, officials said.

It is understood that the new units will reinforce the strength of the security forces already present in the valley who are conducting the annual Amarnath Yatra and carrying out counter-terrorism operations daily, they added.

The troops will be addition to about 65 regular battalions of the Central Reserve Police Force in the valley and over 20 other battalions of other forces deployed to conduct the yatra that will end on August 15.

One CAPF battalion has about 1,000 personnel.

The new strength of the troops will also help in the conduct of the assembly polls in the state that are expected to be held in some time, they said.

Mufti critcises Centre

Saying that Jammu and Kashmir is a “political problem” which would not be solved by militarymeans, former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday criticised the Centre’s decision to deploy additional 100 companies of central armed police force (CAPF) to the valley.

Mehbooba, the president of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), also said the Centre needs to “rethink and overhaul its Kashmir policy.”

“Centre’s decision to deploy additional 10,000 troops to the valley has created fear psychosis amongst people. There is no dearth of security forces in Kashmir. J&K is a political problem which won’t be solved by military means. GOI needs to rethink & overhaul its policy,” Mehbooba wrote on Twitter.

Mehbooba Mufti@MehboobaMufti

Centre’s decision to deploy additional 10,000 troops to the valley has created fear psychosis amongst people. There is no dearth of security forces in Kashmir. J&K is a political problem which won’t be solved by military means. GOI needs to rethink & overhaul its policy.

2,8932:01 AM – Jul 27, 2019Twitter Ads info and privacy3,404 people are talking about this

The Centre on Thursday ordered deployment of additional 100 companies of CAPFs “in order to strengthen the CI (counter-insurgency) grid as well as for maintaining law and order situation” in Jammu and Kashmir.