New Delhi, July 28
Post-Agra summit, the ministries of Home Affairs and Defence have chalked out an elaborate joint strategy to combat Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, sending a clear signal that the Atal Behari Vajpayee government will not waver in dealing with this menace in a cohesive manner.

Besides, the government was also planning to increase the strength of paramilitary forces like the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) to ease pressure on the security personnel already deployed in Jammu and Kashmir, well-placed sources told The Tribune here today.

The government proposes to tackle the Jammu and Kashmir situation politically, administratively and — more importantly — militarily, as mentioned in the July 18 secret report of the Cabinet Secretariat.

As part of these efforts, the Centre’s interlocutor on Jammu and Kashmir K C Pant is expected to go to the terrorism-hit state shortly and talk to political leaders of all hues, including those of the All-Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC).

After Mr Pant, Union Home Minister L.K. Advani and External Affairs and Defence Minister Jaswant Singh are also likely to visit Jammu and Kashmir. Minister of State for External Affairs Omar Abdullah is also to undertake an extensive tour of his home state.

The sources said officials of the ministries of Home and Defence have had several meetings and thrashed out a blueprint for joint action plan to combat the ongoing proxy war in Jammu and Kashmir.

Some of the highlights of this joint strategy are:

* Focus attention of security forces on the Line of Control (LoC) and ensure a prompt and befitting response to Pakistan-engineered disturbances;

* Keep a close vigil on the Srinagar-Leh highway;

* Undertake a review of the existing deployment pattern of the security forces in Jammu and Kashmir;