Search the Internet          Tips

Better image abroad prompted
J&K ceasefire extension

The Cabinet Committee on Security which analysed the situation in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday accepted the Union Home Ministry's contention that Pakistan was disregarding the Vajpayee government's peace overtures and continues to stoke the fire of militancy.

However, the government eventually decided to extend the ceasefire by another month till February 26 because External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh, Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha and the Research and Analysis Wing argued that it would win India international acclaim while exposing Pakistan as the 'villain of the piece'.

Despite his reservations, Home Minister L K Advani too gave his consent to ceasefire extension which was why Jaswant Singh informed mediapersons that the decision was an unanimous one, a top government official said.

However, he told reporters, "Security forces would retaliate if militants attacked them."

He pointed out that the force-level of security personnel was likely to go up to stem the tide of infiltration from across the border.

According to him, Advani (and earlier J&K Chief Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah) pressed for terminating the ceasefire on January 26. Both Advani and Dr Abdullah argued that the continuing 'massacre of security forces deployed in the state' was having a negative effect on their morale.

All seven members of the CCS - Prime Minister Vajpayee, Advani, Defence Minister George Fernandes, Singh, Sinha, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman K C Pant and National Security Advisor Brajesh Mishra - agreed that Pakistan-inspired killings had terrorised the Kashmiri people who were yearning for the restoration of peace, the official said.

However, Mishra, known in government circles as a 'peacenik', agreed with Jaswant Singh and Yashwant Sinha that India's image had gone up following the government's peace initiatives and supported extension of the ceasefire, the official said.

He said even Chief of Army Staff General Padmanabhan, who had earlier favoured extension of the ceasefire because firing from across the border had markedly decreased, had reiterated his view.

Fernandes took the 'middle path', preferring to go with the majority opinion, the official revealed. Fernandes, however, emphasized that he was obliged to report that his tours of J&K as Minister of Defence and his interaction with the people had convinced him that there was a strong case for discouraging Pakistan in its devious designs to foment trouble in the state, he said.

ALSO SEE
Hizb commander's house destroyed in fire

COMPLETE COVERAGE
Government initiated ceasefire in J&K

Back to top

Tell us what you think of this report