NEW DELHI, JANUARY 22: With the current phase of the unilateral ceasefire in the Valley set to lapse on January 26, the Government is likely to buy some time for itself before making any commitment on a possible extension.ON the eve of the crucial meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security, sources close to Union Home Minister L K Advani gave enough indication of this saying that the decision ``could be taken even after January 26.'' In other words, this allows the ceasefire to lapse and allow the security forces to resume operations against an increasingly assertive Lashkar-e-Toiba. At the same time, it will give the Government enough elbow room to weigh its options.The key issue that's being cited by Home Ministry officials is what the Prime Minister had raised in Udupi: the ``lack of an effective response'' from Pakistan. And no ``discernible dip'' in the level of violence in the Valley.Speaking to reporters today, Union Home Minister L K Advani made this point: ``Through the ceasefire, we have been able to convince the people of J&K as well as the international community that we are anxious to provide peace to Kashmir. But our efforts to convince Pakistan, which backs all militant organisations, have not yielded results.''What has made the anti-ceasefire lobby more vocal in the past few days is that even after Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's recent condemnation of Pakistan for not sending enough positive signals to India's peace efforts, militant activities had in fact increased in J&K.The fact that there has been almost no shelling on the Line of Control - a fact confirmed by even the Army chief - is not being seen as an ``effective'' Pak response. Sources close to Advani said: ``The first extension was a natural fall-out of Pakistan bringing down shelling on Line Of Control. It was a tacit acknowledgement of our peace efforts. But since then, there has been a deafening silence from across the border by their refusal to condemn and curb militant attacks.''Beside Vajpayee and Advani, the CCS will also be attended by Defence Minister George Fernandes, and key Army and security officials. And though it will essentially be a political decision, the CCS will also review the latest intelligence reports from the Valley.Sources close to Advani insisted the violence in J&K did come down considerably for ``four or five days'' immediately after the announcement of the Ramzan ceasefire. ``But this was mainly because the militants became confused; they didn't know, for that brief period, what Pakistan wanted,'' they explained.
