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Josy Joseph in New Delhi
Senior commanders of the army and the air force will meet in New Delhi on Thursday to chalk out a schedule for the withdrawal of troops from the International Border, sources in both the forces told rediff.com
They said the Cabinet Committee on Security's decision to withdraw troops was a "great relief" given the fact that the country was not ready to take a decisive military decision after eight months of deployment.
A senior army officer said the withdrawal will take "a few weeks at least", and will begin with the strike formations moving to peacetime locations.
The air force said it will complete the process of withdrawal at the earliest, but did not specify any timeframe.
But the CCS decision has disappointed intelligence agencies and some diplomats who believe the decision was premature, as India had not achieved anything "substantial".
The intelligence agencies estimate that the last two months have witnessed a massive jump in infiltration by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir.
Ministry of External Affairs sources also said the decision to withdraw was taken without India "achieving anything concrete".
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