New Delhi, August 6
Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani said today that a militant outfit newly floated by Pakistan-backed Lashkar-e-Toiba was responsible for the attack on Amarnath pilgrims, near Pahalgam even as he asserted that the yatra would continue.

Mr Advani said this after attending a meeting between a Congress delegation and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.

Stating that the high-level team of Home Ministry officials led by a Special Secretary had reached the site for an on-the-spot assessment of the situation, Mr Advani said “the Amarnath Yatra would continue.”

He said the Home Ministry team would also review security arrangements for the pilgrimage and these would be further tightened.

Earlier, Minister of State for Home I.D. Swami said: “We are determined to continue the Amarnath Yatra. The yatra will continue.”

The Centre has also rushed two ministers to Pahalgam in Kashmir where the terrorist attack took place.

Minister of State for Home Vidyasagar Rao and Minister of State for Defence Chaman Lal Gupta left for Kashmir around 10.30 a.m., as directed by Mr Vajpayee.

They will apprise the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister about the situation.

Terming the attack on Amarnath yatris as a “crime against humanity”, the BJP said the involvement of the Pakistan-backed militant group clearly reflected that Islamabad had not stopped sponsoring terrorism.

“Those who are praising Pakistan for taking the initiative against terrorism should take a lesson from the attack and declare Pakistan a terrorist state,” BJP spokesman Vijay Kumar Malhotra told newspersons.

The issue also figured in the BJP Parliamentary Party meeting, where a number of members demanded effective steps to prevent such attacks and the building up of international pressure against the hostile neighbour.

Meanwhile, the Shiv Sena, one of the key allies of the BJP, and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) have demanded immediate dismissal of the Farooq Abdullah government and the imposition of President’s rule in Jammu and Kashmir.

Condemning the attack as an “act of cowardice”, Delhi Shiv Sena vice-president Abhimanyu Gulati said the incident was a reflection of the “government’s lack of will to crush terrorism with an iron hand.”

The VHP senior vice-president, Acharya Giriraj Kishore, accused Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah of “total failure” in protecting the lives of citizens and sought the dismissal of the state government.

“Enough is enough. The state government should be dismissed forthwith and the Centre should take necessary steps to safeguard the lives and property of the minorities,” he said.