New Delhi: Just a day after the second meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and PDP leader Mufti Mohammed Sayeed on the J&K troops withdrawal issue, Defence Minister A K Antony on Sunday ruled out any cut-back in force levels in the militancy-hit state at the present juncture.
"Any troop reduction would depend on threat levels coming down and security objectives and concerns being met," he said after a security review programme in Car Nicobar.
"I dream of returning the soldiers back to barracks. But for this, we have to be convinced that threat levels are down. At such an appropriate time, we can consider pulling back troops," he said.
The Defence Minister said the threat is still there and terrorist camps are still being run across the Line of Control.
Antony said though the infiltration levels from across the LoC had stabilised, terrorists were now looking at infiltration from sea lanes and from routes in Bangladesh and Nepal to sneak into India.
The government is believe to be considering the idea of forming a committee to examine the issue of troop cuts in civilian areas, vacation of civilian properties occupied by security forces in the state.
The two rounds of discussion between the PM and the PDP leader actually revolved around this idea. While the PDP has apparently sought a political face for the committee, but the Centre politely turned down this demand, saying the panel, if formed, would be headed by a security expert, the sources said.
Prime Minister's media advisor Sanjaya Baru, however, said on Saturday that "further consultations will be held on the proposal."
The PDP had earlier indicated that it might pull out of the Congress-led coalition government in Kashmir if the Centre did not concede to its demand for troops cut in the state.
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