Drop in militant presence, infiltration in Jammu and Kashmir: Army

The security situation in Jammu and Kashmir has come to a "satisfactory" level and the number of militants operating in the state has fallen by half in the past few years, the Army said today.
   
"The security situation in Jammu and Kashmir has come to a satisfactory level. The number of militants operating in Jammu and Kashmir has decreased to 400 from 800-900 in the past few years," General Officer Commanding (GOC), 9 Corps, Lieutenant General AK Choudhary told reporters.
   
He said that infiltration is down.
   
"Infiltration attempts and number of militants entering J&K has come down," Choudhary said.
   
He said that several measures including three tier fencing have been put in place to check cross-border infiltration.
   
To a question about troops withdrawal in J-K, he said that there is a need to take a holistic view on the issue.
   
The Unified Headquarter -- the highest security assessment panel in Jammu and Kashimr -- will assess and take a decision in this regard, he said.
   
"When the security environment improves further, there should be less visibility of forces," he said.
   
Referring to ceasefire violations by Pakistani troops, he said recently three such violations have been reported along the Indo-Pak border.
   
"The BSF has done a commendable job by thwarting attempts of militants to infiltrate to this side from Pakistan," he said.