Farooq gets a pat from Centre

The meeting of the core group of “Kashmir hands”, comprising the Home Minister, Finance Minister, Defence Minister, Planning Commission chairperson, chief minister Farooq Adullah and heads of security forces operational in the militancy-infested state was the first one to be convened after the Kargil episode. Sources said the meeting failed to resolve any of theburning problems being faced by security forces and the administration in tackling the insurgency in the border state as it was a “mere brain storming session”. Advani said the meeting was not expected to take decisions but was an informal forum for “understanding of each other’s perceptions”.

However, sources said Abdullah was rather harsh on the forces and accused them of laxity on the border. He asked the Centre to fix responsibility for the heavy infiltration of the foreign militants to Kashmir this summer. The reported growing differences within the security forces’ apparatus in the state also were not discussed.