China asked to cease activity in PoK: Antony

The government has conveyed its concerns to China about its activities in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and asked it to cease such activities there, defence minister AK Antony told Lok Sabha today.

The government has conveyed its concerns to China about its activities in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and asked it to cease such activities there, defence minister AK Antony told Lok Sabha on Monday.

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In written reply to another question in the House, he said government is not considering to withdraw troops from the Siachen glacier.

On the presence of Chinese soldiers in PoK, Antony said, "The government is aware of China undertaking infrastructure projects in PoK which are being executed by Chinese civil companies. Government has conveyed its concerns to China about their activities in PoK and asked them to cease such activities."

In reply to a question on death of soldiers in Siachen, Antony said since 2010, a total of 18 Indian soldiers have lost their lives in Siachen glaciers due to avalanches.

While six soldiers were killed in 2010, five such incidents were reported in 2011. 2012 saw seven deaths and no such incident has been reported during the present year yet.

On whether the government proposes to negotiate with Pakistan to demilitarise the area, Antony said, "Any development/redeployment of troops in the area is contingent upon the threat perception, ground situation, operational and strategic consideration."

Replying to a separate query on terrorist attacks on Army and paramilitary camps in Jammu and Kashmir in the last one year, the defence minister said, "There have been two incidents of firing by terrorists on Army camps in J&K during the last one year. One Army person was killed in one of the incidents."

On steps taken to check such incidents, he said, "Army has taken adequate steps to prevent attacks on Army camps including deployment of troops and surveillance equipment. Troops are adequately trained and equipped to prevent such incidents."

Intelligence inputs regarding possibility of such actions are disseminated to all concerned. Security drills are constantly reviewed and refined to prevent occurrence of such incidents, the defence minister said.

In reply to a question on the appointment of chief of defence staff (CDS), the defence minister said, "The process of consultations was initiated in 2006, with raksha mantri writing to the leaders of all major political parties to obtain their views on the creation of the post of CDS."

Subsequently the political parties have been reminded to provide their views. Views of some political parties are still awaited. A decision on the matter would be taken after completion of the ongoing consultations, he said.

On recruitment in Army in last three years, Antony told the House that in 2010, 1488 officers, including 93 women were inducted in the service.

In 2011, there were total 164 women officers out of the total induction of 1780 officers, followed by 2035 officers in 2012. In 2012, 157 women had joined the service.