Damage control

After having ruffled the Hurriyat8217;s feathers, Home Minister Shivraj Patil today chaired a meeting to assess his J-K visit and discuss w...

After having ruffled the Hurriyat8217;s feathers, Home Minister Shivraj Patil today chaired a meeting to assess his J-K visit and discuss ways to take the peace process forward. A comprehensive report will be submitted to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh after he returns from his Netherlands trip.

Patil8217;s statement8212;that the Hurriyat is not coming forward for a dialogue with the Centre because of a threat from Pakistan8212;angered the conglomerate leaders, who anyway preferred not to talk to Patil. It was felt, at the meeting, that some sort of 8216;8216;damage control8217;8217; was required to soothe the Hurriyat tempers before the PM8217;s visit to the state.

Sources said Patil, his junior ministers in the MHA, and other senior officials and heads of security forces, who had accompanied him took stock of the ground situation in the state to prepare a report for the PM. According to the Home Minister, the report will be prepared within a week.

Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, T.K.A. Nair also met Patil and discussed the details of his visit. 8216;8216;The PM can finalise his J-K package based on the report,8217;8217; an official said. The Hurriyat8217;s response to Patil8217;s controversial statement was also discussed at the meeting, according to sources. The reaction of moderate leaders could have made it more difficult for the PM to break the ice with them. Moreover, the proposed visit of Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on November 23 has complicated things further. 8216;8216;All separatist leaders have been meeting visiting Pakistani dignitaries but separately. This time, they have been asked to meet Aziz together. It is another way of uniting the various Hurriyat factions,8217;8217; an official disclosed.

There was no communication 8216;8216;at all8217;8217; between the Home Minister and Hurriyat leaders during his visit to the state. 8216;8216;For that matter, none of the members accompanying him managed to establish any contact with the Hurriyat leaders. All communication took place through statements to the media,8217;8217; he added.

Sources said 8216;8216;serious complaints8217;8217; which the Home Minister received from security forces were also discussed. These pertained to issues affecting border areas and development. Patil also took stock of projects, already announced for the state but for which sanction from the Centre was held up.

The report to be submitted to the PM will also be sent to various ministries, including Power, Telecom, and Road Transport and Highways. The meeting was attended by, among others, Ministers of State for Home Sri Prakash Jaiswal and S. Regupathy, Centre8217;s interlocutor N.N. Vohra, Director IB A.K. Doval, Home Secretary Dhirendra Singh and DGs of CRPF and BSF.

Meanwhile, task force on Naxalism holds first meet

	nbsp;	NEW DELHI: Stressing on joint coordination among states, the Home Ministry8217;s Task Force on Naxalism, which had its first meeting on Tuesday, discussed the issue of the hot pursuit of extremists from one state to the other. Though the participating states did not reach an agreement on the issue, they all agreed the spread of Naxalism in contiguous states was affecting police operations. For now, they agreed to follow tip-offs provided by neighbouring states about the presence of Naxals. 8216;8216;A mechanism has been worked out whereby an extremist from one state will not find refuge in the neighbouring one. If a Naxal chased by Orissa police enters AP, then Andhra police will have to act on information provided by Orissa,8217;8217; an official said. 8212; ENS	nbsp;