Government steps up Kashmir vigil

Government steps up Kashmir vigil
AJAY SURI

NEW DELHI, JANUARY 17: Stung by the attacks on security forces in Jammu & Kashmir, the Government on Monday resolved to go on an offensive in countering Pakistan-sponsored terrorism in the State. Raising specialised battalions of para-military forces in J&K, enhancing deployment along the Line of Control (LoC) and International Border (IB), ``neutralising'' terrorist modules operating in the State and setting up an additional Unified Head Quarters (UHQ) north of Zojila were some of the major decisions taken at a meeting headed this evening by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.

The meeting assumes significance for another reason: For the first time, External Affairs Ministry has been involved in the deliberations. While this is viewed as an apparent bid to broaden the spectrum of operations in Kashmir, it is also a reflection of Vajpayee's attempts at a holistic approach to tackle the Pakistan problem, observers say.

The fact that for the first time the Government spelt out its decision to neutraliseKashmir militants showed its intention to back its words by action, it is pointed out.

The two-hour brainstorming session at Vajpayee's Race Course residence was attended by, among others, Home Minister L K Advani, Defence Minister George Fernandes, Foreign Secretary Lalit Man Singh, Army Chief V P Malik and the State Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah. But before that, Advani held a detailed meeting with the Home Ministry's top brass at his North Block office, giving finishing touches to the fresh strategies being framed to root out militancy from the State.

Later, Advani was quick to point out that Vajpayee had chaired the meeting (Kashmir affairs is the subject of Home Ministry) at his request.After the meeting and while speaking with the mediapersons, Advani denied suggestions that the recent Indian Airlines hijacking had increased militancy in Kashmir.

Pakistan, he stressed, stepped up its proxy war after suffering the humiliating defeat in Kargil. A spate of attacks on India's Army camps by thePak-sponsored suicide squads is a post-Kargil phenomenon, he said. `` The upshot of today's meeting is one resolve: Just as we have won the Kargil war, we will win this proxy war too,'' he declared.

To achieve this aim, Advani disclosed, a number of meetings took place during the past few days . One of the off-shoots of these meetings is to divide the entire Counter Insurgency (CI) grid in J&K into 49 sectors as part of a three-tier command and control sector under the UHQ.