Farooq breaks down, calls for war against Pak.

By Shujaat Bukhari

SRINAGAR, OCT. 3. The Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Dr. Farooq Abdullah, today urged the Centre to wage a war against Pakistan to dismantle the training camps there and root out terrorism.

Referring to the suicide attack on the State Assembly on Monday, which claimed 36 lives, an emotionally-charged Dr. Abdullah broke down, as did the others in the Assembly. Weeping, he said ``we are caught between two nations - one (Pakistan) perpetrating gruesome violence against our people and another (India), watching, without taking any firm action against them.''

Dr. Abdullah said he was ready to go to the border if Pakistan wanted ``my head.'' ``Agar tumhein Farooq ki laash chahiye to mein border par aoonga, lekin hamaray masoom logon ko chod do'' (if you want Farooq's body, I will come to the border, but spare our innocent people), Dr. Abdullah said, tears rolling down his cheeks.

Advocating a war against terrorism, Dr. Abdullah asked ``if the U.S. could not wait for a day after Black Tuesday (September 11), are not twelve years too much for testing our patience?''

Will India act after the Kashmiris perish, Dr. Abdullah wondered, while paying floral tributes to those killed on Monday, during an obituary reference moved in the Assembly. He urged the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, to act as the time had come to face the challenge of terrorism with full might.

Coming down heavily on Pakistan for aiding and abetting terrorism in the State, Dr. Abdullah sought the removal of the Musharraf Government on the same lines as was being contemplated in the case of the Taliban in Afghanistan.Earlier, the Speaker, Mr. Abdul Ahad Vakil, moved the reference and gave details of Monday's incident. The Assembly was later adjourned sine die.

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