Not the right time for troop cut in Kashmir: Lt Gen Parnaik

Lieutenant General K T Parnaik, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Northern Command, on Saturday cautioned against diluting special powers in restive Kashmir. He said the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) is a necessity in the face of militant violence. Contradicting Home Secretary G. K. Pillai on troop reduction in the restive Himalayan region, Parnaik said that this was not the right time to think of such a move.