New Delhi, May 18
India today asked Pakistan to withdraw its High Commissioner here Ashraf Jehangir Qazi within a week after the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) took this decision.

Pakistan’s Deputy High Commissioner Jalil Abbas Jilani was summoned to the Ministry of External Affairs here at 3 pm and was communicated the Government’s decision by Mr Arun Singh, Joint Secretary (Pakistan) in the Ministry, MEA spokesperson Nirupama Rao told reporters this evening.

Ms Rao said this “significant” step was taken by the Government of India after the detailed examination of the situation in the wake of the May 14 Kaluchak terrorist strikes which demonstrated that the Pak-sponsored infiltration remained high, terrorist training camps continued to function in Pakistan and Occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Islamabad continued to aid and abet cross border terrorism in India.

The CCS, which met this morning under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, had decided to ask Pakistan to recall Mr Qazi.

The CCS deliberated for two hours in two sessions in quick succession. In the first session senior officers of the three defence services were present in addition to all the permanent members of the CCS — Union Ministers for Home, Defence, External Affairs and Finance, Principal Secretary to PM and National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra and the three Service Chiefs, External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh told reporters as he emerged from the meeting.

In this session, senior officers of the three services briefed the Cabinet Committee on the current military situation, the military preparations and the strategies to be adopted.

In the second session, the permanent members of the CCS, including the three Service Chiefs, met minus the senior officials.

The CCS reviewed the situation arising out of May 14 terrorist attacks in Kaluchak near Jammu which the Vajpayee government has put at par with the December 13 terrorist attack on Parliament.

Mr Jaswant Singh said the CCS had given a direction to his Ministry that Pakistan should be told to recall Mr Qazi for the sake of parity. India had recalled its High Commissioner in Pakistan, Vijay Nambiar, after the Parliament attack and since then New Delhi has been dealing with Pakistan’s Deputy High Commissioner here for protocol purposes.

The Minister said very extensive and heavy damage was caused on the Pakistani side by Indian troops who retaliated to unprovoked firing along the International Boundary since last morning.