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| Reduction of border troops depends on Pak moves | | | Step by step India and Pakistan move towards normalising relations between the two sides.If the two sides make a firm commitment on forging cordial ties it would be no less than a miracle because during the last 64 years it has been a love-hate story between the two neighbours.It has been a saga of mistrust,misunderstanding and conflict between the two sides.
The level of conflict has been fluctuating between hope and despair.However,the signs of normalcy between the two sides,following ceasefire agreement of 2003,proved a short term illusion with Pakistani agencies abetting and aiding terrorists' deadly strike in Mumbai in 2008 in which about 166 people were killed.
Since then both New Delhi and Islamabad have been trying to come closer than they have been during the last four years.The two sides have agreed to disagree but ultimately have been able to sort out some of the irritants despite the fact that the main irritant for New Delhi is yet to be removed or resolved. This pertains to delay or refusal on the part of Islamabad to punish those perpetrators of the Mumbai carnage,including Hafez Saeed, who are seen roaming freely in Pakistan.
As part of the confidence building measures the two sides plan to set up a hotline between the home secretaries of the two countries.In addition to this the most vital aspect of the trust deficit exercise is the proposed rduction of troops on the border.
Reports have revealed that India is considering to cut the number of soldiers from wartime positions on the border with Pakistan, where they were deployed after the 2008 Mumbai attacks.The two countries are said to have reached an understanding on withdrawing troops during President, Asif Ali Zardari's visit to New Delhi on April 8,according to reports quoting unnamed military and diplomatic officials.
The withdrawal of troops to peacetime positions is among the first substantial overtures since the two sides resumed peace talks after a two year gap in the wake of the Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people.
A formal announcement about the withdrawal is likely when the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh visits Islamabad, possibly during the latter half of this year."It is going to happen in September or October," media reports quoting senior officials in Islamabad. Political figures privy to the President's day-long visit to India said the major development was a result of talks through backdoor channels, which had been active for the past couple of years.Officials said the Indian government had mobilized troops to take wartime positions at the disputed border with Pakistan, particularly in Kashmir, immediately after gunmen launched the attacks in commercial hub of Mumbai.
The attacks were blamed on the Pakistan-based militants. According to experts, in a wartime scenario, the regular army starts manning the border instead of Special Forces meant for protecting boundaries. India has the Border Security Force and Pakistan has Rangers for this purpose. Since Pakistan also moved its troops on the border in response to India's move four years ago the plan to withddraw troops from the LOC and the IB could be a right step in the direction of reduction of trust deficit.
Senior Government functionaries in New Delhi rightly remark that the plan to withdraw troops from the border with Pakistan depended on the level of ingress. If there was any increase in the ingress bids of militants the withdrawal plan may be shelved. Hence for bilateral peace Pakistan has to move in the right direction. |
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