Panel submits report on Kargil intrusion

K Subramanyam, a noted defence analyst who headed the committee, along with its three other members, B G Verghese, Lt Gen Retd K K Hazari and Satish Chandra, presented the report to Vajpayee.

The committee, whose terms of references included to review the events leading up to the Pakistani aggression in Kargil and to recommend such measures as were considered necessary to safeguard national security against such intrusions, commenced its work on October 31 last year.

However, due to the Lok Sabha polls and government formation, the committee was unable to interact with several leaders and therefore, requested the Government for an extension up to December 15, 1999 to submit the report, the release said.

The Secretariat took another three weeks to organise the compilation, printing and binding of the report which runs into 2,000 pages and 17 volumes, including annexures and appendices.

Though the committee was not statutory in nature, the Government had issued specific directions to the ministries and agencies concerned to provide it the widest possible access to all relevant documents, including secret and top secret papers, and to officials of the Union and Jammu and Kashmir governments.

The committee held over a 100 meetings and interacted with eminent political leaders, senior civilian and military officers, present and former diplomats, journalists, members of the public and others.

It met among others former president R Venkataraman, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, former prime ministers V P Singh, I K Gujral and P V Narasimha Rao besides other top leaders, Service Chiefs, secretaries of the ministries concerned, chiefs of intelligence services and young Army officers directly involved in the operations.

The committee also toured Jammu and Kashmir on four occasions to get a feel of the terrain and interact with local leaders, important officials, both military and civil, besides the media.

The committee also examined media reports that had appeared during the Kargil conflict to look for useful leads. Besides circulating questionnaires to various organisations to obtain relevant information, the Subramanyam committee perused several books published in recent months on the subject.

quot;The committee undertook its work in a spirit of complete openness, objectivity and transparency,quot; the release said.

During the course of its inquiry, it accessed highly classified information both in the form of documentation and through its discussions with the leadership, officials 8211; civilian and military 8211; and retired persons, which have been reduced to paper as authenticated records for discussion.