The government decided to pull out a full army brigade comprising three infantry battalions and also 35 security camps from the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) as part of the phasing out of troops following the terms of the peace treaty signed in 1997, reports UNB.

An announcement from the Prime Minister's office in the Armed Forces Division Wednesday said the troops' withdrawal will start "immediately" and the withdrawal process will be completed within September this year.

"This will be the largest pullout of troops from the hill tracts," it said about the step of the new government of the Awami League-led grand alliance that clinched a grand victory at the last polls held in a changed political situation.

Earlier, 200 security personnel's camps were withdrawn in phases in the process of implementing the peace deal signed by the previous Awami League government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to end a long-running tribal insurgency in the hills.

The release said the Bangladesh government is "very sincere and determined to implement the historic peace treaty" signed between the government and the PCJSS led by Jyotirindra Bodhipriya Larma alias Shantu Larma, which brought back tribal refuges from camps in northeastern India's Tripura state.

It said, "The upcoming withdrawal of the army inter alia security personnel from the CHT will be considered as a milestone by the hill people in implementing the government commitment."

The government has initiated a number of steps to implement the peace treaty, which include the formation of peace-treaty-implementation committee at the national level, reconstitution of the parliamentary standing committee on the CHT affairs and holding series of meetings of the committee to resolve multidimensional problems in the hill districts and the beginning of the process of reconstitution of the land commission.

The government expects maintenance of normal law and order and development process in the hill tracts and peaceful co-existence of all religious groups, castes and creeds and seeks support from all in implementing the peace treaty in the CHT region.