Hyderabad: The Centre has no immediate plans to withdraw security forces from Jammu and Kashmir, where Article 370 has been revoked, in view of the continued tension in the region, Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy said Wednesday evening.
“Why will we withdraw troops immediately from there when Pakistan is trying to provoke Kashmiris and disturb peace so that it can go to international community (to complain). The decision on whether to withdraw or not will be taken by the local administration,” Reddy told this agency when asked whether the Centre had any plans to with additional forces. G Kishan Reddy said the situation in Jammu and Kashmir is peaceful now and Home Minister Amit Shah is regularly monitoring the situation.
Reddy pointed out that schools have opened, Section 144 had been withdrawn, government offices had started working and some of the controls imposed had been relaxed. Internet and telephone services had also been restored, barring in a few districts (four or five).
Reddy also asked opposition leader to have patience regarding their visit to Jammu and Kashmir.
“Pakistan would like to see peace disturbed in J&K to tell the world that the government’s decisions vis-a-vis the state are wrong,” Reddy pointed out. “There is a lot of time. You can go to Jammu and Kashmir… Hold peace for some days. After that, Rahul Gandhi can hold any number of meetings there. Who is saying no? Have patience,” he added.
Reddy asserted that barring a few ‘small incidents of violence’ the situation is not ‘tense’ in Jammu and Kashmir. “Now there is no tense situation in Jammu and Kashmir’, where there used to be months-long curfew with leaders jailed for years in the past as well,” Reddy pointed out.
“Pakistan is hatching many conspiracies to prove before the world what the government of India has done is wrong. Because today the whole world is in favour of India… because the world is standing by the decisions taken by the government in the matter of abrogation of Article 370,” asserted the Minister.
PTI
