KOLKATA: With Pakistan continuing to allow its territory to be used by terrorists, the question of reducing the number of Indian troops deployed along the Kashmir border did not arise until this ceased, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee said here on Sunday.

"How can we reduce [the number of] troops as long as Pakistan does not keep its promise of not allowing its land to be used by terrorists against India," Mr. Mukherjee said at a convention against terrorism, organised by the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee in the wake of the Mumbai blasts.

Any withdrawal of troops would only encourage greater infiltration from across the border, he said.

Recalling an earlier commitment made by Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf that he would not allow his country to be used by terrorists, Mr. Mukherjee said India had been telling him to "dislodge terrorist camps in his country and stop giving them logistic support."

"Terrorists are not coming into India from Mars or Siberia, they are coming from the other side of the border," he reiterated.

While the Musharraf Government was bombing Taliban hide-outs in Waziristan, it was allowing 39 "launching pads" to operate in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, the Defence Minister charged.

Mr. Mukherjee said Pakistan was pursuing a policy of "bleeding India through a thousand scars" as it had failed to capture Kashmir during wars in the past.

The Mumbai blasts and the attacks in Kashmir, on Parliament, the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore and on the Akshardham temple were part of the same design, he claimed.

"There is a method in this madness," Mr. Mukherjee said, referring to the terrorists' attempts to destabilise the country.

Their attacks were no longer confined to military personnel but had spread to soft targets as well.

He felt that blaming the attacks on intelligence failure was "an oversimplification."

"We must remain alert... anyone including me can be a victim of terrorism," Mr. Mukherjee said.

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