Army commanders from the five operational commands and training commands gathered in New Delhi today to deliberate on the demobilisation and also put up a demand that sensors be deployed all along the LoC before the winter to detect intrusions.The commanders, who met under the chairmanship of Army chief Gen S. Padmanabhan, also deliberated on the plan to redeploy troops after the Cabinet Committee on Security cleared troop withdrawal. The Prime Minister and the Defence Minister are expected to address commanders of all the three services on Saturday. Sources said that details of the withdrawal would have to be meticulously worked out as they have to figure out the changeover of units from field to peace-time postings.The Northern army commander, sources said, pointed out that there had been a drop in infiltration but asked for deployment of sensors along the LoC. ‘‘Top priority would be given to pulling back of the three strike corps who are equipped with lethal armaments and electronic measures,’’ sources said.Complicated de-mining operations also figured in the deliberations. As part of Operation Parakaram, the Army has mined huge stretches of the border in J-K, Punjab as well as Rajasthan. Courses in the Army, suspended since the mobilisation in December last year, are also likely to be restarted in a phased manner.The Army has decided to nominate its officers for the prestigious Defence Services Staff College course unlike previous years where an examination was the decider.Similarly courses like the young officers’ courses, and training of other arms like the Electrical-Mechanical Engineers and engineering courses at the College of Military Engineering had been suspended.
