Asia

Pakistani Army Refutes Reports About Extra Troop Deployment to Gilgit-Baltistan

NEW DELHI (Sputnik) - The Pakistani armed forces' spokesperson, Maj. Gen. Babar Iftikhar, refuted on Thursday media reports claiming that Pakistan had deployed additional troops along the line of control (LOC) in Gilgit-Baltistan area in the disputed Kashmir region, and that China was using the Skardu Air Base located there.
Sputnik

"News circulating in Indian electronic and social media claiming additional deployment of Pakistan Army troops along #LOC in GB [Gilgit-Baltistan] and alleged use of Skardu Airbase by #China is false, irresponsible and far from truth. No such movement or induction of additional forces has taken place. We also vehemently deny presence of Chinese troops in Pakistan," Iftikhar wrote on Twitter.

China also denies presence of its troops in Pakistan.

Indian media outlets reported, citing intelligence sources, on Wednesday that Pakistan had moved two troop divisions along the Line of Control on its side of Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan, an area that adjoins Ladakh to the north.

According to the sources, as many as 20,000 Pakistani soldiers have been deployed to the northern Ladakh region to match Chinese deployments.

The reports come amid simmering tensions between India and China, whose troops were engaged in a deadly confrontation in the Galwan Valley in the border region of Ladakh in mid-June. Twenty Indian servicemen were killed in the border skirmish, which is also believed to have resulted in an unknown number of fatalities for China.

 

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