Union home minister L K Advani yesterday defended the controversial "pro-active" policy on Kashmir and said it had yielded good results since it was put into practice in May. He said the policy signified the difference in the handling of Kashmir by the Vajpayee government and the earlier ones.
"The pro-active approach has brought the turnaround in Jammu and Kashmir. There is a marked improvement in the security situation in the state. But there is no change in the involvement of the neighbouring country in Kashmir and we anticipate increased involvement in future," Advani said.
The dress and behaviour codes imposed by groups associated with the Taliban had been flouted by the Kashmir youth, he said.
Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah had reported several such instances at the meeting yesterday morning. After a recent visit, the US ambassador too had reported to him a changed situation in the valley, Advani claimed.
Terming the proxy war a hard reality, Advani made a distinction between holding talks with Pakistan on Kashmir and countering the proxy war. He said the Kashmir issue should be settled according to the Shimla agreement, but this did not mean that India could ignore the spread of ISI.
"This year alone 16 outfits sponsored by the ISI have been unearthed. But cross-border terrorism is different from the Kashmir issue and it is not confined only to Jammu and Kashmir. We would not like to solve the Kashmir issue by use of arms, but terrorism is different and cannot be treated in the same manner", Advani said.
He admitted to the infiltration of men and material from across the border.
Local recruitment in the state had, however, dried up, he claimed.
He said his ministry had no information about the reported visit of Osama Bin Laden to India. The meeting was attended by defence minister George Fernandes, Governor G S Saxena, Farooq Abdullah, the chief of army staff and senior officials of various ministries. The last such meeting was held in May.
