Fernandes restrained by NSC

NEW DELHI, JUNE 9: The National Security Council NSC, which finally met for the first time on Tuesday, has decided that the Government ...

NEW DELHI, JUNE 9: The National Security Council NSC, which finally met for the first time on Tuesday, has decided that the Government must not speak in many voices, sending confusing signals to the world on the Kargil crisis.

And the 30-odd participants were almost unanimous in their view that Defence Minister George Fernandes should not make any public statements on the issue. His statement on giving 8220;safe passage8221; to the infiltrators and then backtracking on it came in for a lot of criticism. This consumed a good half-an-hour of the discussion time and ended only after the assurance that the Defence Minister would not speak on the issue.

8220;Whoever speaks will do so with a proper brief. No off-the-cuff remarks which have only confused the country and the world. This was the basic consensus,8221; said a participant. It was felt that even the people within the country did not seem to understand the gravity of the situation in Kargil, the main reason being the faulty Government approach.

The three-hourlong meeting at Hyderabad House, chaired by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, was attended by the Cabinet Committee, comprising Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha, Home Minister L K Advani, External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh, Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission K C Pant and Principal Secretary Brajesh Mishra, the Strategic Policy Group and the members of the National Security Advisory Board NSAB. The chiefs of the three armed forces were also present.

The participants felt the media should be given greater access. Transparency emerged as the key word. Pakistan appeared to be scoring just by pretending to be transparent, felt the participants. Projection of the Kargil problem to the world was important. The world needed to get the correct picture and for that 8220;greater diplomatic activism8221; was required. It was imperative that the world knew that Kargil was Ladakh and not Kashmir and should not be confused with the Kashmir problem.

Other than the diplomatic aspect, the military aspect was alsodiscussed. As an immediate measure, it was decided to strengthen the troops out there in the battlefield. 8220;There was a general consensus on upgrading the equipment for both ground and air surveillance. It was decided to provide night vision equipment to the soldiers since most operations were taking place at night. The infiltrators were already armed with all modern equipment and occupied strategic heights. It was also decided to upgrade the striking capacity of both the Army and the Air Force,8221; disclosed a member of the NSAB.

The general view was that the peace process and dialogue with Pakistan was fine but India needed to be firm and not backtrack. 8220;It must be made clear that it is Kargil which will be discussed with the Pakistan Foreign Minister and nothing else. India has to be unwavering on the stand,8221; the member said. Moreover, he added, India also must be prepared for all eventualities in the fluid situation prevailing today.

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In fact, a few participants were of the view that the Governmentshould not shy from declaring it as at least a 8220;border war8221;.