Return to Story Page
To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu

Centre clears aid to fight J&K ultras

EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

NEW DELHI, OCT 22: The Centre today expressed fears of Pakistan stepping up a proxy war in Kashmir through the Inter Services Intelligence but asserted that its pro-active approach towards the State, as far as battling militants is concerned, has yielded the desired results.

Union Home Minister L K Advani, who held a three-hour meeting today with Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, Governor Girish Saxena, Defence Minister George Fernandes and Army Chief V P Malik, later admitted there were shortcomings in the Government's war with Pakistan-trained militants.

``The infiltrations of man and material from across the border,'' continues, he said at a press conference, but emphasised that ``ex-filtration'' (essentially of Kashmiris crossing over to Pakistan to get training in terrorist activities) had dried up now.

Secondly, he added, the Army and para-military forces stationed in Kashmir had to stretch their resources to the limit and do a bulk of what essentially was the State machinery'sjob.

Convened essentially to review the action plan for Kashmir which was chalked out some months ago, today's meeting, Advani said, turned into a ``brainstorming'' session. Apart from reviewing the Kashmir situation, issues like quick dispersal of funds and future gameplans were deliberated upon in detail.

Significantly, the meeting cleared the release of Rs 118 crore for the current financial year, of Rs 560.47 crore set aside in the action plan for combating militancy in Jammu and Kashmir. ``The Secretary (Expenditure) has been asked to release the amount by November 15,'' Advani said.

Those who attended the meeting felt there had been a marked improvement in Jammu and Kashmir since their first meeting in May, but Advani stressed there was no room for complacency.

``The security forces would have to consolidate their gains. The State Government and security forces would take all the steps required to sustain an atmosphere of confidence so that total normalcy could be restored at the earliest,'' hesaid.

Asked about Farooq Abdullah's reported proposal -- he was not at the press conference -- to convert the Line Of Control into a permanent border, Advani replied that the Government was bound by the parliamentary resolution which stated that the entire Jammu and Kashmir was a part of India.

``India,'' he added, ``is ready to settle the Kashmir issue with Pakistan under the Simla Accord through talks and not by use of arms, either by proxy or direct war. But state-sponsored cross-border terrorism is a separate issue. It is not confined only to Jammu and Kashmir.''

Evidence of Pak attack