War against terrorism will be won: Advani

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JAN. 7. The Government has not dropped the idea of bringing out a white paper on the ISI network in India, the Union Home Minister, Mr. L. K. Advani, said today, although he did not indicate when the job would be done.

Mr. Advani revealed that the ``identity of the hijackers'' of the Indian Airlines plane was established on January 2/3 and there were ``many more people with them'' in the conspiracy.

Talking informally to a group of journalists in his North Block office, he said the release of three hardcore terrorists in exchange for the hostages would ``give a boost for a brief while'' to the terrorists active in Jammu and Kashmir. But then, ``the progress of the war against terrorism cannot be a smooth linear affair... there are bound to be ups and downs.''

Despite the recent setbacks and the perceived increase in terrorist attacks on the posts and headquarters of security agencies in Kashmir, Mr. Advani did not see the picture as bleak. ``There are initial disadvantages (in fighting terrorism) in a democratic country where the Government is necessarily concerned about human rights issues as well as legitimacy. When an authoritarian state becomes a terrorist state (the reference is clearly to Pakistan), it will have initial advantages,'' Mr Advani said. But there was no room for cynicism, and the ``war against terrorism in Kashmir will be won just as the war against terrorism in Punjab was won.''

There was a tinge of regret when he said that except the BJP all political parties had supported the withdrawal of TADA by allowing it to lapse. It was the only specific Central law dealing with terrorism, he noted, while admitting that ``there was a tendency on the part of the executive to misuse this law.'' Unfortunately, ``it came to be see as an anti- minority legislation.''

The Minister ruled out any move to bring back any similar law although many chief ministers had expressed the need for such legislation. ``Criminal law is a concurrent subject, the States can pass their own legislation. Tamil Nadu has done it, others can do it.''

As for special courts for speedy trial of terrorists in jail, Mr Advani did confirm that a status report on the 33 militants (other then the three released) whose release the hijackers had at first demanded was being prepared. But there were problems, witnesses were not forthcoming and ``even judges, as happened in Punjab, were afraid of giving judgments.''

Mr. Advani said his Ministry knew the identity of the ``London -based television journalist'' who was contacted by someone in Mumbai on the cue from a contact in Pakistan to put out the news that the hijacked plane would be blown up if the demands were not met.

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