Centre To Withdraw 72 Companies of Central Armed Police Forces From Jammu & Kashmir

The decision comes after a high-level review meeting on Jammu and Kashmir at the national capital.

Security personnel in Jammu & Kashmir/ (Photo by Tauseef MUSTAFA / AFP)

New Delhi: In a major decision on the newly carved Union Territory Jammu & Kashmir, the Centre has decided to withdraw as many as 72 companies of Central Armed Police Forces, with immediate effect from the UT. The decision comes four months after the abrogation of Article 370 that revoked Jammu and Kashmir's special status. This includes calling off 24 companies of CRPF, and 12 companies each of BSF,  ITBP , CISF and SSB. The decision comes after a high-level review meeting on Jammu and Kashmir at the national capital. A number of restrictions imposed on August 5, when the announcement for the abrogation of Article 370 was made, have subsequently been lifted. However, curb on mobile data continues to be in force. The meeting  was called to discuss the security situation in the newly carved out union territory besides development matters, officials said. It  was chaired by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and attended among others by Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir G C Murmu, Union Home Secretary Ajay K Bhalla, senior security advisor in MHA on the UT, K Vijay Kumar, among others. Union Home Minister Amit Shah also joined the meeting for sometime, the officials said. They said that Kumar was scheduled to travel to the union territory soon to take stock of the situation. The Kashmir Valley continues to be on the edge ever since the abrogation of the special status given to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 and division of the state into two Union Territories. Many people detained, including three former chief ministers - Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti - continue to be incarcerated.