Bangalore, Dec 22: National Conference president and Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Dr Farooq Abdullah Tuesday said the presence of troops was not required in the cities and towns of Jammu and Kashmir.
“The ground situation in Jammu and Kashmir is much better and the presence of troops in cities and towns was not required now,” Abdullah told IANS on the margins of an energy event here.
Welcoming the withdrawal of two divisions of the army from the state, Abdullah said:  “Jammu and Kashmir has a good, well-trained police force. There is also central police to look after law and order. The Indian army has a function of looking after the borders.”
Noting that infiltration was coming down, Abdullah said the decline in terror incidents in the state was due to the firm stand taken by the world against it. “The world is not going to stand by terrorism and watch it grow. A firm and united stand against terrorism is resulting in better climatic conditions for putting an end to the menace,” he said.
Commenting on the prevailing situation in Pakistan, Abdullah said the country is in “terrible trouble this time” due to unabated violence, terror attacks and suicide bombings. “I think Pakistan is in terrible trouble this time. It is not for an Indian to tell what its government should do to tackle terrorism,”
Hoping that the Pakistan government would put down terrorism, Abdullah said once India realised it meant business, everything would fall into place and the dialogue process between the two countries could resume.
“I think dialogue will work again once India realises that Pakistan means business and would not allow its soil to be used for terrorism against India. Its government has to first chargesheet the perpetrators of Mumbai attacks on Nov 26, 2008,” the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister asserted.
 Farooq said his ministry has chalked out a plan for the districts situated on the borders of Pakistan and China, which have so far remained un-electrified, to provide electricity through alternate sources like solar and wind energy.
Abdullah was on a visit to India’s tech hub to participate in a daylong seminar on ‘Smart Grids - Business Opportunities’, organised by the Consortium of Electronic Industries of Karnataka (CLICK).

Lastupdate on : Tue, 22 Dec 2009 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Tue, 22 Dec 2009 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Wed, 23 Dec 2009 00:00:00 IST