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No more than 1,400 fighters left in Kashmir
There are no more than 1,400 fighters in the Kashmir Valley, compared to an estimated figure of 14,000 in the 1990s, according to a report published here on Monday.Filed from Srinagar by a Christian Science Monitor correspondent, the report says that for the first time in several years, the Indian government has given indications that it might finally consider the longstanding demands of Kashmiris to reduce its troop presence in the Kashmir Valley. The Indian defence ministry, under instructions from the prime minister, has convened a committee of experts to study plans for demilitarising the region. The number of Indian troops in Kashmir is believed to be around 600,000, having risen from 36,000 in 1989, the year of the Kashmiri uprising against Indian rule. According to Srinagar-based human rights activist Khurram Pervez, It is unjustified having so many troops here. Its understandable to have, say, 100,000 troops to fight a few hundred militants. Not 600,000. Posted by: Fred 2007-04-03 |
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