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Pakistan denies Indian claims of forces' pull out
Islamabad (AFP) Nov 7, 2007 Pakistan's military on Wednesday denied reports from India that it had withdrawn tens of thousands of troops from the border to deploy them against militants in restive tribal areas. Top military spokesman Major general Waheed Arshad told AFP that Pakistan did not station troops along the recognised international border with India during peacetime. But he said Pakistan did have troops deployed on the Line of Control, the de facto border with India in disputed Kashmir, as well as on the Siachen glacier in the Himalayas. "Not a single soldier had been pulled back from these two deployments," he said. Pakistan last week moved 2,500 troops into Swat in the North West Frontier Province to counter a firebrand religious leader who is demanding Islamic Sharia law in the one-time tourist resort. The militants have seized more than two-thirds of the key tourist valley. A top Indian defence ministry official said Wednesday that Pakistan's troop numbers along the frontier had hit an "all-time low" during the summer as soldiers were sent to the North West Frontier Province bordering Afghanistan. "Our estimates are based on tested intelligence inputs from within Pakistan and feedbacks from our watch on their frontier assets," added an official from India's director-general of military intelligence. India's military establishment estimates the redeployment has left "gaping holes" in Pakistan's eastern flank facing India. Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, who is also the army chief, imposed a state of emergency on Saturday amid spiralling political turmoil and Islamist violence, much of it in the northwest of the country. Pakistan currently has 90,000 troops battling Al-Qaeda and Taliban insurgents in the lawless tribal areas on the Afghan border. India and Pakistan have fought three wars, two of them over Kashmir, since gaining independence from Britain in 1947. The two nuclear-armed South Asian rivals launched peace talks three years ago in a bid to improve ties. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links News From Across The Stans
Walker's World: A desperate Musharraf
Washington (UPI) Nov 5, 2007 The declaration of emergency rule in Pakistan has not resolved the country's deep political and constitutional crisis. It may not even long delay the inevitable climax. |
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