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Advani rules out referendum in Kashmir

Union Home Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani told the Lok Sabha today that Jammu and Kashmir's integration with India is an "article of faith" for the government, which cannot, therefore, agree to any referendum on the status of the state.

Responding to a calling-attention motion by T Subbirami Reddy of the Congress on the recent terrorist killings in Jammu, Advani denied that Prime Minister A B Vajpayee, during his visit to Lahore, had tacitly accepted the idea of a referendum.

Advani said the prime minister had told his Pakistani counterpart, Nawaz Sharief, that continuation of such killings would stand in the way of establishing normalcy between the two countries.

He said the Pakistan-inspired terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir is on the decline and the security forces have brought in a "sea change" in the state in the last one year.

He pointed out that the attacks on the minority Hindus in the state on the eve of Vajpayee's Lahore visit were calculated to foul the atmosphere.

The home minister said the security forces killed 999 militants in the state in 1998. Besides, most of the terrorists captured now are foreign mercenaries, indicating that Pakistan is no longer able to recruit Kashmiris for its "proxy war".

Advani said relative peace prevailed in the entire state, including in the Kashmir valley, in the last year. Tourism re-emerged as an important industry with more than 100,000 foreign tourists visiting the state. The number of pilgrims for the Amarnath yatra too went up.

He said Republic Day in the state this year was incident-free after years of terrorist resolve to disrupt the celebrations.

Earlier, Subbirami Reddy complained that security in the state was not tightened on the eve of Vajpayee's Lahore trip, resulting in the killings.

Advani said though law-and-order is a state concern, the Centre is alert to the militancy in border states as such movements have cross-border inspirations.

UNI

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