National
No drop yet in infiltrations
By Our Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI, JAN. 23. India today said that it had so far not seen any drop in cross-border violence in Jammu and Kashmir and stressed that New Delhi was not in a position to fix a time-frame to arrive at a definite conclusion on infiltrations.
``We have not discerned any long-term trends to suggest a downturn in cross-border terrorism,'' the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs said in response to a question.
The spokesperson said that determining trends in cross-border terrorism was a time-consuming exercise. Data had to be collated and compared with the information that was available for the previous years. Besides, the infiltration level during winter, on account of the heavy snow falls along the mountain passes, was low. ``To put a time line (on judging infiltration levels) is obviously not practical.''
Government sources here pointed out that India would also be looking at the closure of the Kashmir cell within Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence as an indicator of Islamabad's intent. Radio intercepts of conversations between terrorists in Kashmir and their backers in Pakistan would also indicate whether a permanent reversal in infiltrations was on the cards.
The spokesperson declined to read meaning into the presence of the Pakistan High Commissioner, Ashraf Jehangir Qazi at a reception hosted by the President, K.R. Narayanan. She pointed out that Mr. Qazi was present along with other dignitaries belonging to the diplomatic corps in the Capital.
She reiterated that Pakistan was yet to furnish a list of fugitives it alleges are present on Indian soil. Neither had it sought discussions with India on this subject.
She rejected the assertion that India had declined to send a delegation to an upcoming SAARC economic meeting in Kathmandu on account of its current standoff with Pakistan. Responding to a query on India's stance over the LTTE, she said that ``there was no change in our position.''
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