In a typical double-speak on Jammu and Kashmir, Home Secretary G K Pillai on Friday talked of cutting down a fourth of the troops over the next 12 months while Army Chief General V K Singh felt no such need, hoping "extra pressure" is not put on his "already-stretched" deployments.

Pillai unveiled the troop withdrawal plan at a symposium on 'What is the way forward in Jammu and Kashmir' organised by the Jamia Millia Islamia here. Gen. Singh contradicted him within an hour at an Army Day-eve Press conference saying the Army was not aware of any troop reduction plans.

The Army chief said any step in this direction would be taken only in consultation with the Srinagar-based Unified Command Headquarters headed by the Chief Minister and comprising military, intelligence, central para-military and state officials.

He pointed out that the Army had deployed its troops in the state as per the requirements on the Line of Control (LoC) and some Army columns the hinterland to maintain peace and counter terrorism.

The Home Ministry sources, however, said Pillai was only talking about an action plan already under implementation to shift the troops and the central para-military forces from the populated areas, but without scaling down any deployment on the borders.

Pillai also announced India's unilateral decision to issue a six-month multiple entry permit to any Pakistani Kashmiri visiting relatives in Jammu and Kashmir instead of the 15-day single-entry permit to travel by the bus service running between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad, the capital of PoK. He said Islamabad had shot down the proposal to extend similar facility to families from Jammu and Kashmir.

The Army chief said: "We have not yet felt that we have to cut down our forces. If they want to cut down para-military and police forces, I won't say anything...So when that is done, it will be ensured that extra pressure is not brought on our already-stretched deployments there." He, however, declined to make any direct comment on Pillai's remarks.

The exact quote of Pillai: "There will be a 25 percent reduction of security forces in Jammu and Kashmir, especially from populated areas, in the next 12 months."

He said this was being done "so that people don't get harassed by the over-presence of security forces" and went on to assert that the government wanted "to do more" in terms of troop reduction, a popular demand of various mainstream and separatist political parties but opposed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The proposal to further reduce the presence of security forces in the conflict-riven state comes after over 100 days of summer unrest - which started in June 2010 and claimed more than 100 lives - calmed down following official promises of a political solution.

The government had last year removed nearly 35,000 security personnel from the state but the process was halted following reports of militant incursions from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

As regards withdrawal of the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), which gives impunity to armed forces in their anti-terror operations, Pillai put the onus on the J&K government: "Why cannot the state government take a decision, take a leap of faith and notify that all of Jammu and Kashmir or parts of it are not disturbed now? If the area is no longer disturbed, the AFSPA doesn't apply."

Army chief Singh, however, declined to respond. "You know the views of the Army in this regard. The issue is already before the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) and I would not like to say anything further." He, however, added that the Army would not allow the sacrifices made by its troops to go waste and allow terrorists to gain hold in areas cleansed by them.

The AFSPA withdrawal is a popular demand of Kashmiri politicians, including the ruling National Conference, to assuage the hurt feelings of the people of the state following accusations that the Armed Forces have misused the powers and committed human rights violations in the garb of collateral damage during anti-militancy operations.

Pillai said the Centre awaits the final report in April from the three interlocutors appointed by the Home Ministry on steps necessary for a political solution to the ticklish Kashmir problem hanging afire since past six decades.