Islamabad: The Pakistan Army on Thursday rejected as “false and irresponsible” media reports that it has moved about 20,000 additional soldiers along the LoC in PaK and Gilgit-Baltistan to match the Chinese deployments on the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
The military’s media wing in a statement on Twitter “vehemently” denied the presence of Chinese troops in Pakistan and refuted reports that the Skardu Airbase in Pakistan-administered Kashmir (PaK) was being used by China.
News claiming additional deployment of the Pakistan Army troops along the Line of Control (LoC) in Gilgit-Baltistan and alleged use of Skardu Airbase by China is “false, irresponsible and far from truth, Inter-Services Public Relations Director General Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar said.
“No such movement or induction of additional forces has taken place. We also vehemently deny the presence of Chinese troops in Pakistan,” he said.
Amid the military stand-off between India and China in eastern Ladakh, media reports claimed that Pakistan has deployed “almost 20,000 additional soldiers” along the LoC in PoK and Gilgit-Baltistan “to match Chinese deployments on the LAC in the east”.
The reports said that the level of troops Pakistan has deployed is more than what it did after the Balakot air strikes.
Last month, India asked Pakistan to reduce the strength of its High Commission in New Delhi by 50 percent within the next seven days and announced a reciprocal reduction in Indian strength in Islamabad.
PTI

Press Trust of India