Thursday, May 22, 2003
Thursday, May 22, 2003 |
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By Sandeep Dikshit
Confidence building measures, initiated with the decision to re-appoint High Commissioners, would take time to take root and should not be linked with incidents of violence in Jammu and Kashmir, he said. At the same time, the Centre would continue with the dialogue with various groups in the State. The Centre's interlocutor, N.N. Vohra, was doing his bit. His efforts would continue. Playing down the varying perceptions within the Government on the peace process with Pakistan, Mr. Fernandes said: "The question of peace is much larger than how many were shot. Let us not diminish the efforts made by the Prime Minister... don't expect daily developments (on the infiltration rate)." The Minister would not comment on the infiltration rate. "We have been saying for ages that the situation (in J&K) changes every morning and night. Yesterday, four were killed on the LoC. Today, there have been no reports but we don't know what the situation would be in the evening... A complete assessment would have to be made over a period of time." Earlier in the day, the Chief of the Army Staff, N.C. Vij, appeared to reiterate the Minister's observations on the need to assess the infiltration rate over a period of time before arriving at a conclusion. He felt that though the next three to four months would be crucial in estimating infiltration, available information suggested that "efforts are not lacking". The first infiltration effort in north Kashmir, he pointed out, was detected and foiled on Tuesday. Dwelling on the operations near the Line of Control, south of the Pir Panjal range, which he reviewed on the ground, Gen. Vij said the area was important from both tactical and strategic levels. From the point of view of counter-insurgency operations, this area, because of thick vegetation and lack of roads and tracks, was the hub for harbouring terrorists operating in the Surankot "bowl". More than that, the terrorists could have interfered with the lines of communication for the troops operating in areas beyond Surankot. He thanked the State Government for acceding to the Army's request to stop nomadic shepherds from using the area. This strategy deprived the terrorists of local cover as they used to mingle with the shepherds. The cessation of civilian movement also enabled troops to engage in a no-holds-barred battle with the terrorists of whom 60 were killed.
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