Relieve Army from counter-terror duties: Parl panel

New Delhi: Observing that deployment in counter-insurgency operations was straining the resources of the Army, a Parliamentary panel Monday said the force should be relieved from these tasks to focus on undertaking its regular conventional duties. In its report tabled today, the Standing Committee on Defence expressed concern for saving lives of soldiers in counter-terrorist operations and slammed the Defence Ministry for its "lackadaisical attitude" for doing away with the deficiency of around 1.86 lakh bullet-proof jackets for Army troops. On Army`s role in counter-terrorism operations, it said the force`s "commitments towards counter-insurgency operations strain its resources and is at the expense of its conventional war-fighting potential." "The Committee endorse the Defence Ministry`s views that counter-insurgency operations should ideally be conducted by the state-police or central police forces as the matter lies within the domain of internal security and the Army should be deployed only as the last resort," the report said. The Committee asked the Ministry to discuss the "matter with higher echelons in light of the recommendations and relive Army from Counter Insurgency operations so that the personnel deployed in operations are available to undertake their regular duties." PTI