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Advani to visit massacre site today

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI MARCH 24. An emergency meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) today took stock of the situation in the Kashmir Valley following the massacre of Kashmir Pandits early this morning, preceded a day earlier by the killing of the Hizb leader, Abdul Majid Dar, in north Kashmir.

The CCS, which was also briefed on the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, would be updated on the situation in Kashmir tomorrow after the Union Home Minister, L.K. Advani, visits the massacre spot, about 10 km from the national highway. A Home Ministry team from Delhi, headed by the senior officer, Ashok Bhandari, has already left for the area.

Talking to newsmen after the 90-minute CCS meeting, the External Affairs Minister, Yashwant Sinha, said the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, had expressed grief and sorrow at the loss of innocent lives. "The Government condemns the incident in the strongest terms. The Deputy Prime Minister will visit the site tomorrow. On return, he will brief the CCS. We will keep reviewing the situation and take whatever steps are necessary to meet the situation,'' he said.

Fresh from a visit to the State, the Chief of the Army Staff, N.C. Vij, besides representatives of intelligence organisations acquainted the CCS with the situation. The massacre took place even as the State Government was earmarking land in southern Kashmir to resettle the Pandits, who had fled the area.

For the security forces, this is a time of heightened alert since the snow blocking the passes bordering Pakistan has started melting and infiltration and militant activity may pick up.

Barely a few days ago, these aspects were highlighted by senior Ministers, including Mr. Advani and George Fernandes. They had also said that terrorist training camps were intact in Pakistan and "not one was dismantled" in the past four months of relative inactivity due to the weather.

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