New Delhi, Sept 28 — The Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, today accused Pakistan of stepping up its terror campaign in direct proportion to the mounting desire for peace among people in Jammu and Kashmir.

“We have seen no dilution in Pakistan’s attempts to intensify its proxy war against India. Indeed, Pakistan has stepped up its terror campaign in direct proportion to the mounting desire for peace among the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” Mr Vajpayee said addressing the 35th Conference of Directors and Inspectors General of Police organised by the Intelligence Bureau (IB) here.

“Everybody knows the manner in which Pakistan-backed terrorist organisations sabotaged the peace talks in Jammu and Kashmir,” he said, adding that “hostile forces emanating from our neighbourhood have stepped up their subversive activities, seeking to undermine our democratic polity, damage our social fabric and disrupt our economic progress.”

.Terming the law and order situation in the North-East as “worrisome”, the Prime Minister said separatist and terrorist groups, apart from criminals bereft of ideology of any shade, continued to indulge in violence and extortion. “This adversely affected development schemes,” he said.

Yet another challenge to the internal security, Mr Vajpayee said, was the scourge of Left extremism.

Referring to modernisation of police forces and upgrading equipment at their disposal, the Prime Minister said it was not enough to talk about them.

“Resources have to be mobilised by the Union and state governments to modernise the police by training and equipping it. This is a responsibility that has to be shared jointly. We have stepped forward and we expect the state governments to do so,” he said, recalling the Centre’s recent decision to increase funds for police modernisation from Rs 200 crore to Rs 1,000 crore a year.

Describing the conference as an excellent platform for sharing views and experiences, Mr Vajpayee asked chiefs of police forces to create an “impeccable image” associated with “unimpeachable integrity” since such a portrayal acquired effectiveness which no weapon or equipment could impart.

Voicing serious concern over narcotics smuggling and its manifestation of narco-terrorism, Mr Vajpayee said they had a dangerous impact on internal security.

Earlier, in his welcome address, the Intelligence Bureau Director, Mr Shyamal Dutta, regretted that the intelligence and police organisations were “paraded in public” for their failures but their successes in protecting top politicians and thwarting large number of cases of terrorist violence and crime went unnoticed.

Mr Dutta clarified that law enforcing agencies were “not in the business for headlines”. He lauded IB officials for effectively providing inputs to neutralise Pakistan-sponsored designs in Jammu and Kashmir “without much security cover” and also unearthing seven espionage networks this year.

The Prime Minister also presented President’s Police Medals to IB officials for distinguished service.