Infiltration from across the border down: Army chief

Army chief General S Padmanabhan on Friday said that infiltration from across the border has been reduced by "about 43-44 per cent," which is reasonably good.

He was inaugurating a military building on the outskirts of Chennai.

Asked to comment on Russian President Vladimir Putin's remarks on the continuance of cross-border terrorism, he said remarks of the "leader of a great nation" are being considered carefully.

To another query about the pullback of heavy equipment from the forward areas, he said, "It was not a pullback but a redeployment and relocation of the equipment and forces. The exercise being carried out in the east, central and south of the forward areas would be completed by the end of December."

He described as "rubbish" reports of "mini Kargil", in which Pakistani troops allegedly occupied some forward posts and were later evicted with the use of air power.

Explaining the circumstances, Gen Padmanabhan said, "A patrol of about 15 Pakistani soldiers located themselves in an unoccupied area for about three days before they were discovered and thrown out."