VHP appeals to President over withdrawal of troops

The state unit of VHP today appealed President Pratibha Patil to intervene and reverse the recent move by the authorities to withdraw 15,000 troops from Rajouri and Poonch areas of Jammu and Kashmir.

"The army's decision to withdraw 15,000 troops from these border areas would not only give fillip to acts of terrorism in these militancy-infested areas, but would also create a sense of insecurity among the people living there," state VHP president Rama Kant Dubey told media0 persons here.

Drawing the attention of media about yesterday's press briefing by GOC 9 corps Lt Gen G M Nair that an army division comprising of 15,000 is being withdrawn from Rajouri and Poonch border districts to its base in Palampur in Himachal Pradesh. Dubey said that this decision will have far reaching consequences on the security situation in J-K.

"Therefore, we appeal to the President of India, who is supreme commander of all armed forces, to intervene in the matter and direct the government to withdraw this decision in the interest of the security of J-K and country", Dubey said. The VHP leader said such decision by the authorities cannot be described as "pro-national".