ISI may step up activities
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Oct 22 — The Union Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani said today India would like to settle the issue of Jammu and Kashmir with Pakistan under the Simla Agreement.

Addressing a press conference after a high-level review meeting on the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir, Mr Advani said that the issue could be settled through talks between the two countries and not through an armed conflict or through a proxy war.

Mr Advani’s statement was in response to a query about his reaction to a statement by the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah before the meeting to a group of newspersons reiterating that in his opinion the issue could be settled by India accepting the Line of Actual Control as the Line of Control.

"The government is bound by the unanimous resolution of Parliament, incorporated in the Constitution and the J-K boundaries as indicated in it. On the issue of Jammu and Kashmir, India would like to settle it under the Simla Agreement by talks with Pakistan," he said adding that it was not likely to be settled by the use of arms or proxy war.

"Dialogue and discussions must go on (with Pakistan)," Mr Advani said adding that the issue of J and K should not be linked to talks just as the border issue with China was kept aside while trying to come to an agreement on other issues.

The Home Minister also sought to differentiate state-sponsored cross border terrorism as a separate issue and said it could not be linked to the differences over perception of India and Pakistan on Jammu and Kashmir.

Mr Advani sought to justify the difference on the issue of state-sponsored cross border terrorism stating that it was not confined only to J&K.

The government has in the recent past indicated that ISI-backed subversive activities were noticed in North-East and even in south India. The issue also figured during the recent round of Indo-Pak talks and the Ministry of External Affairs had provided evidence of proxy war being waged against India.

Referring to the ongoing process of talks, Mr Advani said the government would continue the dialogue and that at the next round of official-level talks the agenda would include all issues. "We will talk on all issues’’ he said.

Comparing progress of dialogue with China, he said just as the Sino-Indian talks were going on despite disagreement on contentious border issue, the country would like talks with Pakistan to progress on other areas.

Earlier, Mr Advani said after the review meeting the government apprehended an increase in activities from across the border.

One major shortcoming, he said, was that infiltration of men and material from across the border was continuing although local recruitment of people of J&K for militant activity in India had practically dried up

Mr Advani said there had been an improvement in the situation in Jammu and Kashmir. This view was shared by the American Ambassador to India, Mr Richard Celeste, who visited Srinagar recently.

On today’s meeting, Mr Advani without naming Pakistan said the unanimous opinion was that there was no change in that country’s attitude or approach with regard to its proxy war in Jammu and Kashmir.

"That is why, we think that country (Pakistan) might step up its proxy war in the coming months," he said.

Though the situation had considerably improved in the state he said, there was no room for complacency and the security forces will have to consolidate their gains.

He said the state government and the security forces would have to take all steps to sustain the atmosphere of confidence so that total normalcy could be restored in at the earliest.

He said another meeting would be held to view the progress of development activities in the state.

At this meeting the issue of migrants who had to leave the state in the wake of militancy would also be discussed, Mr Advani said.

Asked about reports on the possible visit to Hyderabad of fugitive Saudia billionaire Bin Laden, Mr Advani said the Home Ministry had no such information.

At today’s meeting it was agreed that the state's requirement of Rs 118 crore in the current financial year out of a total amount of Rs 560.47 crore required to implement the action plan for tackling militancy would be released by November, 1998.

The meeting was attended among others by the Defence Minister, Mr George Fernandes, Governor G.C. Saxena, Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, Chief of the Army Staff, V. P. Malik, the chiefs of the CRPF, Mr M.N. Sabharwal, of the BSF Mr E. N. Rammohan, of the J and K Police, Mr Gurbachan Jagat and intelligence agencies. The Home Secretary of Himachal Pradesh Mrs Asha Swaroop and its DGP, Mr T R Mahajan were also invited.