In a clear indication of the intense churnings within the govnt over troop reduction, the Centre is holding back extension of mandate for Rashtriya Rifles (RR) for the year.
NEW DELHI: In a clear indication of the intense churnings within the government over troop reduction in Jammu and Kashmir, the Centre is holding back extension of mandate for Rashtriya Rifles (RR) for the year. RR is the most visible and most active of the Indian forces in Jammu and Kashmir, especially in the Kashmir Valley.
For now, the Army headquarters have been given administrative clearance for just the pay and allowances for this financial year of the soldiers deputed to RR, technically a paramilitary force but manned completely by the Army, while holding back the mandate extension.
The almost 63,000-strong force doesn’t have an open-ended mandate as far as its duties and deployment are concerned, as is the case with the military and most other paramilitary forces.
The RR mandate has to be renewed whenever it ends. It was started with an initial mandate of three years in 1994, and later renewed for varying periods according to the situation on ground.
So when the RR mandate was ending on March 31, the Army headquarters moved file to the Ministry of Defence for renewing it. The Army pointed out that the mandate should be given for a longer period, preferably five or 10 years, because of the administrative hassles involved.
However, the government has held back extension of the mandate, while giving an administrative order permitting Army to release pay and allowances of RR.
The government decision to hold back the mandate extension may be symbolic, but the timing is crucial. It comes at a time when the government is seriously pursuing backroom negotiations with Pakistan and Kashmiri groups for finding a lasting solution to Kashmir.
Both Pakistan and the Kashmiri groups demand complete demilitarisation of the Kashmir Valley. Army sources point out that other than the Army units deployed along the Line of Control and a holding brigade, which is reserved for war, there are very few Army units that is on counter-insurgency duty and can be withdrawn from the Kashmir Valley.
“So, the only troops we can withdraw in a significant way are the RR units and the paramilitary,” says a senior Army officer.
At present, the process of replacing BSF by CRPF is underway in the valley.
The RR today has Victor Force looking after Anantnag, Pulwama and Badgam districts and Kilo Force looks after Kupwara, Baramullah and Srinagar districts in the Kashmir Valley.
For the rest of the state, Delta force looks after Doda district, Romeo in Poonch and Rajouri and Uniform Force for Udhampur and Banihal.
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