Tezpur, April 10 :     The Centre and the Bhutan government will ?soon? arrive at a decision on whether a joint operation is required by the Armies of both the countries to flush out rebels from the Northeast who have taken cover inside the dense jungles of southern Bhutan. Disclosing this to The Telegraph, the GOC, 4 Corps, Lt. Gen. D.B. Shekatkar said, ?Deliberations are on at the highest level (about the joint operations).?? The GOC heads the operations group of the Unified Command structure. Incidentally, the disclosure coincides with the visit of foreign minister Jaswant Singh to Bhutan. In Thimpu yesterday, Singh is understood to have met his Bhutanese counterpart, Zigme Thinley, who is also the head of the government, home minister of Bhutan, Thinley Gyamshto and the chief operations officer of the Royal Bhutan Army, G. Dorgi, who is the counterpart of chief of Army staff, Gen. V.P. Malik. Singh also met King Jigme Singye Wangchuk. Official sources refused to disclose details but said, ?The issue of sharing of intelligence and mutual support in terms of deployment figured during the discussions.? A joint operation by the Indian and Bhutanese Armies, adopting ?a hammer-and-anvil strategy,? has been under consideration of both governments since late last year. But because of the ramifications involved, both the countries have exercised restraint before arriving at any decision. ?A joint operation is not something that can happen at the drop of a hat. There are several factors which have to be taken into consideration. Therefore, the best is we wait for the situation,? Shekatkar pointed out. ?We will go by what the two governments decide.? He said there was an indication that the rebels from the Northeast ?may have already started feeling that the public opinion in Bhutan was turning against them and have begun migrating to Myanmar.? However, a joint operation is not something that Thimpu would agree to so easily. The militants may retaliate by training their guns on the residents of eastern and western Bhutan, who mostly use Assam as their gateway by road to the world. Secondly, the government of Bhutan seems to perceive that the presence of the rebels of the Northeast may help them to contain the uprising by the Lhotsampas (people of Nepalese origin). Moreover, after the Indian Army leaves, following a joint operation, the Army of Bhutan would not be able to match the modern firepower of the rebels. Asked about reports that the camps belonging to the United Liberation Force of Asom (Ulfa) and the Bodo extremist groups ? the Bodo Liberation Tiger Force and the National Democratic Front of Boroland ? were existing side by side in Bhutan, Shekatkar said: ?These reports are genuine. After all, it is a question of mutual existence. Therefore, there is love and affection. But, how long can this peaceful coexistence last. After all, the Ulfa and the Bodo rebels have different ideologies.? In reply to a query about the situation on the Sino-Indian border, Shekatkar said, ?Let me assure you that things are normal.??