The Hindu : Army instructional staff told to return from border

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jun 18, 2002

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Army instructional staff told to return from border

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI JUNE 17. While the talk on demobilisation of the Indian troops is indeed premature, the Army has begun to slightly ease its alert levels on the border by asking its instructional staff to report to their respective training establishments.

Due to a chronic shortage of officers, all instructors were asked to report to their parent units once full deployment was ordered in December last.

Sources said a meeting at the Army Headquarters today reviewed the situation and felt instructors of all `Category A' training institutes could be called back. The process is expected to take four to eight weeks. Except for the Indian Military Academy and the Officers Training Academy, training at all other training establishments had stopped after full mobilisation.

With monsoon on the western borders scheduled to set in in about a fortnight, the Army is easing up on granting of leave to its personnel. For the moment, leave would be granted on compassionate grounds, highly-placed sources said adding presently the number of personnel on leave would be restricted to 15 per cent.

In about six to eight weeks after the monsoon would be in full force, the norm of granting leave up to one-third of the unit's strength might be re-introduced. Sources, however, added that leave was currently being granted on extreme humanitarian grounds such as the death or critical illness of kin. No decision has yet been taken on fresh postings.

Meanwhile, asked about additional steps towards military de-escalation, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson, Nirupama Rao, insisted that the Government's actions would depend on the implementation of Pakistan's pledges to end cross-border terrorism. "India will not be found wanting in terms of responding positively to concrete steps taken by Pakistan. This is dependent on the kind of action taken by Pakistan,'' she said.

Asked about the Defence Minister, George Fernandes' perception that there was a change in Pakistan's attitude, Mrs. Rao said "that does not provide us with confirmation that there is a permanent shift in their position''.

India wanted an end to cross-border infiltration and dismantling of the terrorist training infrastructure.

Till that happens it would be premature to talk about military de-escalation, she added.

Although Islamabad had given assurances about dismantling the support network for terrorists, there was no clear evaluation that it had translated its intentions into concrete action on the ground.

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