The Centre on Wednesday decided to withdraw 100 companies of security forces from the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The decision was taken after a security review by the ministry of home affairs (MHA). The companies of paramilitary personnel to be withdrawn include 40 companies of CRPF and 20 each of the BSF, CISF and SSB from the Kashmir Valley, officials said.

The decision was finalised after the MHA reviewed the deployment of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) in the union territory.

A total of nearly 100 CAPF companies have been asked to withdraw “immediately” and go back to their base locations in the country from where they were mobilised to the UT after the abrogation of Article 370, in August last year.

A CAPF company usually has an operational strength of about 100 security personnel.

The home ministry had last withdrawn about 10 CAPF companies from Jammu and Kashmir in May.

According to the MHA order, a total of 40 companies of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and 20 each of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), will be moved out of Jammu and Kashmir by the end of this week.

With the latest withdrawal of security personnel, the CRPF will have a strength of about 60 battalions (about 1,000 personnel in each battalion) in the Kashmir Valley apart from very few units of other CAPF staff.