The Hindu : Decline in infiltration, admits Fernandes

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jun 20, 2002

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Decline in infiltration, admits Fernandes

By Sandeep Dikshit

NEW DELHI JUNE 19. The Defence Minister, George Fernandes, today said there was "considerable decline'' in cross border infiltration in Jammu and Kashmir, but ruled out immediate military de-escalation. Troops would be deployed in forward positions on the western border as long as it is necessary.

"Infiltration has come down considerably. There have only been one or two attempts in the recent weeks,'' said the Chief of the Army Staff, S. Padmanabhan, who was also present to felicitate an Army team for scaling one of the highest peaks in the region.

Gen. Padmanabhan firmly ruled out joint patrol by India and Pakistan troops along the Line of Control (LoC) till adequate trust was established between the two sides. Earlier this month, India had proposed joint patrol to verify cessation of cross border infiltration along the LoC.

The Army chief said military to military ties between the two sides were limited to telephonic conversations between the Director Generals of Military Operations (DGMOs) every Tuesday. Further interaction was possible only after both countries established trust in each other. "Right now there is no confidence in the other side. Therefore, joint patrolling is a long way off.''

On the Army's role in the coming Assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir, he said militants would attempt to disrupt the election "but we are confident of thwarting their designs''.

Mr. Fernandes did not agree with the perception that forward deployment was related with the Assembly election. "But, like anywhere else, if there is a law and order problem during the election the Army can be called in.''

Mr. Fernandes said though the Government had decided in-principle to install electronic sensors along the LoC to monitor infiltration, formal talks with the principal supplier, the U.S., was yet to take place.

Asked to comment on the Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf's observation that Islamabad's nuclear capability had acted as a deterrent, Mr. Fernandes referred to the Presidential candidate, A. P. J. Abdul Kalam's observations earlier in the day. Dr. Kalam had said the recent skirmishes had shown that if India did not have a nuclear deterrent, there would have been a war now.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson, said there had been a decline in cross border infiltration, but the trend must become an established one.

Declining to spell out a time-frame for de-escalation since "we are not at that stage where we can be talking of pre-determined steps,'' the spokesperson, Nirupama Rao, said India would take appropriate steps at "the time our moment of choosing.''

There were certain pledges by Pakistan on infiltration, camps and support infrastructure to terrorists, It is important that these steps should be "visible, permanent and to the satisfaction of India,'' she said.

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