Kargil 8212; PM talks to Sharif, clears air strikes

PONDICHERRY, MAY 26: Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee today said all possible steps', including air strikes, would be taken to clear ...

PONDICHERRY, MAY 26: Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee today said all possible steps8217;, including air strikes, would be taken to clear the Kargil area. Calling the shelling in the region a new situation8217; and unacceptable to the nation, he said it was not infiltration but a move to occupy new territory.

Vajpayee also said he had spoken to his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif yesterday and told him that India would not allow any intrusion into its territory.

Speaking to reporters here, Vajpayee said, 8220;We are facing a new situation in Kargil. It is just not infiltration that is taking place when the snow is melting. This time the design is to occupy some territory. Infiltration is being backed by armed forces.8221;

Asked if there has been any setback to Indo-Pakistan relations on account of this development, the Prime Minister said the events in Kargil were a violation of the Lahore Declaration. It was a breach of peace and tranquility along the Line of Control accepted by both the countries under the Simla Agreement.

However, the Prime Minister asserted that the country8217;s borders were quot;safer now than any time in the pastquot;. He also spoke of the government8217;s steps in this direction, including the nuclear tests in Pokharan and the launching of Agni-II.

Shakti and Shanti went together, he said, as only a strong nation could pursue the path of peace. quot;This is the perspective that guided my recent bus journey to Pakistan. Next month, I plan to undertake a similar bus journey to Bangladesh,quot; he said.

In New Delhi, meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah met home minister L K Advani and briefed him on the ground situation in Kargil and Drass. During the hour-long meeting, Abdullah also urged the centre to take effective steps to check the flow of infiltrators to the state.