Pakistan army denies addl troops in PoJK, Gilgit

Jammu, July 2

The Pakistan army on Thursday refuted all reports suggesting that it had inducted additional troops in the Pakistan occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) to ally with China to open a two-front situation, with India already facing a tense standoff with Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh.

The Pakistan army’s denials are, however, being taken with a pinch of salt by the border residents who have witnessed the movement of troops on the other side.

At these places, the LoC is mostly demarcated by rivers, which are 7 to 20 feet wide. The border residents can watch each and every movement on the other side of the Neelum river which, at places, is just 3 to 4 m wide.

These reports had caused consternation on the borders, particularly in Gurez Valley and other areas facing Neelum district of the PoJK and also in Ladakh where Gilgit-Baltistan lies just across the LoC.

Pakistan had used these areas as launching pads to help its troops intrude into Ladakh ahead of the Kargil war in 1999.

In the first response to the reports carried mostly by the Indian news channels since Wednesday, the director general of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) major-general Babar Iftikhar termed these as “false”.

“News circulating in Indian electronic and social media claiming the additional deployment of Pakistan army troops along the LoC in Gilgit-Baltistan and the alleged use of Skardu airbase by China is false, irresponsible and far from truth,” said major-general Babar Iftikhar.

Notwithstanding denial by the Pakistan army, the fact is that there are PLA troops in Gilgit-Baltistan and they maintain security of the projects being set up or run by the Chinese companies. This is factual position since 2009, which was widely reported by the Western media at that time. — TNS