No change in troop presence in J

Jammu, May 9 (UNI) Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee today categorically said there would be no change in the deployment of troops in Jammu and Kashmir.

''The union government will neither enhance nor reduce the number of troops in the state,'' Mr Mukherjee said at a press conference at the Air Force Station here.

Earlier the Defence Minister, accompanied by Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, visited Doda and Udhampur districts where terrorists killed 35 Hindus.

On Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's demilitarisation proposal, Mr Mukharjee said there was no question of troop reduction in the valley.

''Although we have been continuously reviewing the situation, the present circumstances do not allow any troop reduction,'' he said.

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