The Army on Saturday said it is not in favour of a ceasefire with militants in Jammu and Kashmir [Images] during the month of Ramzan as they can pose a bigger security threat while merging with the civilian population.

"I don't think we should go for a ceasefire at present. Any ceasefire before winter will offer militants an opportunity to regroup and pose a bigger security threat," Northern Command General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Lieutenant General H S Panag said in Udhampur on Saturday.

Panag said there was no guarantee "that militants would not regroup or launch attacks while the hidden enemy is merged with the population." But he added that the declaration of a ceasefire was a political decision.  

The Congress' coalition partner Peoples Democratic Party, opposition National Conference and the separatists have demanded a Ramzan ceasefire to ease the tense situation in the valley.

Without naming anyone, Panag said, "Our politicians are sometimes anti-national and anti-democracy. They talk to the government as a tool of the militants."

Speaking about troop withdrawal in the valley, Panag said, "Demilitarisation should not take place till the number of militants operating in the state decreases, the terror infrastructure shuts down in Pakistan and the Indo-Pak peace process reaches the agreement stage."

He said that Pakistan cannot be classified as an enemy nation since the border ceasefire had been holding for four years and there was no visible hostility there.

"Support to militants is a problem. We are dealing with it diplomatically and will continue to do so. But the issue cannot allow us to go to war with Pakistan," Panag said.