The Hindu : 'Redeployment of troops over'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Dec 24, 2002

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'Redeployment of troops over'

By Our Staff Reporter

BANGALORE DEC. 23. The process of relocating the troops deployed on the border with Pakistan earlier this year has been completed, the Chief of the Army Staff-designate, N.C. Vij, told presspersons here.

Earlier, addressing the "sainik sammelan" of paratroopers on Sunday, Lt. Gen. Vij, who is currently the Vice-Chief of the Army Staff, said the Army was in the process of acquiring advanced weapons for the paratroopers from the U.S. and Israel.

In the future, mass movement of troops would be less as the conflict would be shorter and the paratroopers would play an even more important role, he added.

Referring to the counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir, he said the Army planned to keep one battalion of paratroopers all the time there and each battalion would be deployed on rotation for a year. It was a matter of pride that the paratroopers were never found wanting in jobs entrusted to them.

The Parachute regiment is celebrating golden jubilee. As part of the celebrations, it organised an air show at Jakkur airfield here on Friday.

PTI reports from New Delhi:

An Army spokesman today denied that Lt. Gen. Vij had made comments about plans to attack terrorist camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in January this year at the golden jubilee of the parachute regiment in Bangalore.

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