Bangalore, Aug 12: Chief of army staff General VK Singh Thursday said the army would remain in Kashmir valley till the crisis persisted there.
“The army will remain in Kashmir till the problem is there. The Army, which is needed for security of the border, is already there. It is neither more nor less,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a function at Army Service Corps Centre here.
He was responding to a question whether the army should be pulled out of Kashmir. On whether the army’s presence is required in Kashmir, he declined to comment on the issue.
“The issue is already being discussed in Parliament at length. I would not like to comment on it,” he said.
The Army Chief was recently in news for his controversial remarks on the Jammu and Kashmir government. In an interview on June 30, Gen Singh had said that bold and far-sighted political steps were urgently needed to control the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.
Gen Singh had said that there is a great requirement for political initiatives which will take all the people of Jammu and Kashmir forward, together.
“Militarily, we have brought the overall internal security situation in Jammu and Kashmir under control. Now, the need is to handle things politically,” Gen Singh had said.
Gen Singh had also reiterated his opposition to demands to either withdrawing or diluting the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from J&K, holding that adequate measures have been instituted at all levels to ensure its not misused.

Lastupdate on : Thu, 12 Aug 2010 21:30:00 Mecca time
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