Hot pursuit option still open: Advani

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, OCT. 24. Asserting that hot pursuit was now acceptable to the international community as a legitimate way of attacking terrorist camps outside a country, the Union Home Minister, Mr. L. K. Advani, said once again today that ``as of now we do not propose to avail ourselves of this option.''

Replying to media queries after the 40th Raising Day parade of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police here, Mr. Advani, however, did not rule out the possibility. ``Such decisions (of hot pursuit) are not announced in public,'' he said, ``under the present circumstances, we are confident of tackling this menace without crossing the Line of Control.''

Earlier, addressing the ITBP jawans, Mr. Advani said he pitied the Pakistan ruler who was ``forced to eat his own words.'' Without naming the Pakistan President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, he said, ``I hope no one gets to see a day like this. I pity him. (Mujhe un par daya aati hai. Taras aata hai). Three months ago, he described the terrorist activities in Kashmir a ``freedom struggle'' and the militants as freedom fighters. But in the aftermath of September 11, when the terrorists attacked the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly on October 1, he was forced to publicly condemn it saying it was a terrorist activity.''

Mr. Advani said: ``For whatever reason, good faith seems to have prevailed and he has conceded that there is terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. Terrorist organisations like the Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Jaish-e-Mohammad should be immediately banned. Britain has already taken action against them. I hope good faith will prevail on Pakistan and the U.S. also in this regard.''

Islamabad had resorted to proxy war, cross-border terrorism and attacks on soft targets after it was defeated in the three wars it fought against India. But,``they (Pakistan) received a severe drubbing from us. (Baar baar yahan se pit kar gaye. Unki buri tarah thukai hui. Unki jam kar dhulai hui). In 1971, they had attacked us to snatch away Jammu and Kashmir. Instead they lost East Pakistan, now Bangladesh.''

Reiterating that India had suffered the most because of terrorism, Mr. Advani said: ``Terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir is our problem. We will tackle and win our war against terrorism whether any country helps us or not.''

It was important to learn a lesson from the way the U.S., its people and the media responded to the September 11 attacks. The entire country had stood as one and even the rival political forces had thrown their weight behind the U.S. President, Mr. George Bush. Referring to the hijacking of an Indian Airlines plane to Kandahar in December 1999, he said the passengers' relatives demonstrated outside the Prime Minister's residence everyday and the media gave them prominence. But, when some Americans were kidnapped in Iran earlier, their relatives used to gather at one point and light candles and pray for their safety. ``We should give priority to our national interest rather than self-interest,'' Mr. Advani said.

At the end of his speech, he announced a grant of Rs. 25 lakhs for facilities like satellite phones and television sets to the ITBP jawans posted in far-flung areas.

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Charges rebutted

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, OCT. 24. India today rebutted Pakistani allegations about troop and artillery movement along the Line of Control (LoC). While dismissing the allegations once again, New Delhi gave signs of being exasperated by the repetitive nature of these charges.

The Defence Ministry maintained that India had no intention of stoking tension along the border. An official recalled that the country had refrained from transgressing the LoC despite extreme provocations such as the Kargil war. The conversation on Tuesday between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) was not unusual as they normally took place on Tuesdays every week, he added. By mentioning the fact that the DGMOs had spoken over the phone, Islamabad had sought to imply that concern was voiced by its side over Indian artillery and troop movement. The Indian High Commissioner to Islamabad, Mr. V. K. Nambiar, was also summoned by the Pakistan Foreign Secretary who sought clarifications on Indian troop movement.

The Defence Ministry had clarified some days ago that there was no additional movement of troops along the LoC. Military traffic does pick up just before winter because of special deployments during the season and routine turnover of units.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Office declined to add to the ``war of words'' with Pakistan. Official sources in the External Affairs Ministry felt that Pakistan's concerns were unfounded as there had not been any troop movement or relocation of air assets to forward locations.

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