SRINAGAR, India, Jan 13, (Agencies): The army has vacated all hospital, school and college buildings in Indian Kashmir in a further bid to lower its profile in the volatile region, Defence Minister A.K. Antony said Wednesday.
He also revealed that India’s home ministry had ordered federal police to take over security of a key road connecting the Kashmiri summer capital Srinagar with the rest of India from the military.
The 300-kilometre (186 mile) highway - a main conduit for military convoys - winds through the Himalayan foothills and is prone to militant attacks.
“This has been done to reduce the visibility of the army, without in anyway diluting out counter-militant grid,” said Antony, who was on a visit to review the security situation in the region.
A 20-year insurgency against Indian rule in the region has claimed more than 47,000 lives.
The army had commandeered a number of hospital and school buildings in Kashmir after it assumed counter-insurgency duties in 1990, a year after the insurgency began.
India has recently pulled 30,000 troops out of Kashmir following a fall in militant attacks in the Muslim-majority region bordering Pakistan, where the strong military presence has alienated many moderate residents.
“The process of winning hearts and minds of people is never an easy one,” Antony said.
Meanwhile, at least half of India’s defence equipment is obsolete and needs urgent upgrade, a report said on Wednesday, underlining gaps in its defence preparedness in a region roiled by Islamist militancy and military rivalries.
Only 15 percent of India’s equipment is “state of the art”, according to the first comprehensive report on the country’s defence sector prepared by global consultancy firm KPMG and the Confederation of Indian Industry.
New Delhi changed its defence procurement policy last year to further open its defence sector to the world and local companies after the Mumbai attacks in November 2008, in which 166 people were killed.
The attack revealed glaring holes in India’s security system.
The new report, released by Defence Minister A.K. Antony, says India will have to focus on improving homeland security after the Mumbai attacks and the government needs to support private firms in manufacturing equipment locally.
India says it is keen to upgrade its largely Soviet-era arsenal to counter potential threats from Pakistan and China with a series of acquisitions and by phasing out old weapons.
The country has lost nearly 200 Russian-made MiG series aircraft in crashes since 1990, blamed by the air force on manufacturing defects.
India wants to increase its air force squadrons from 34 (612 fighters) to 42 (756 fighters) by 2020 with modern aircraft. The Indian army also needs new weapons urgently, the report said.
Bofors Howitzers were the last major acquisition made by the Indian Army way back in 1986, it said.