Government not to dilute army presence in J&K

Maintaining that the presence of the forces in J&K was necessary, Minister of State for Defence M M Pallam Raju said, "We will not dilute the presence of the forces till we are absolutely certain that there is no further threat to the country."

When asked to comment on reports that arrested Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorists had revealed a tunnel was being dug up in Baglihar region of the state to mount attacks on India, he said the report was "in consonance with what we have been already saying...that it is premature to withdraw forces from there because the condition has not stabilised and aggression from across the border continues."

Talking to mediapersons, he said the government will "certainly act" on the information provided by these arrested terrorists.

To a question on allegations by a Pakistani army officer in Swat Valley that 'Made in India' ammunition was found in the region bordering Afghanistan, Raju said India was conscious about where it exported its ammunition.

"And, if that has been found...it must have gone from some other route or have been smuggled there. But, we will definitely enquire about it," he added.