PM to Sharif — Talks OK, but no pause in strikes

Briefing reporters about the deliberations at the meeting, Parliamentary Affairs Minister P R Kumaramangalam said Vajpayee wasstill to get a final communication from Islamabad with regard to the visit of Aziz.

Defence Minister George Fernandes who also briefed the press said “we do not believe that the war will escalate.” But he did not appear to have too many friends at the meeting and stood isolated for his remarks giving a clean chit to the Pakistan government and the ISI.

Neither the Prime Minister nor any member of the ruling alliance came to his defence. Sensing the mood, Fernandes chose not to give any explanation for his statement.

Strangely, some of the allies of the BJP, like the Shiv Sena and the Telugu Desam, openly criticised Fernandes though the BJP kept quiet. The Biju Janata Dal did not speak while the representative of the Trinamool Congress made no mention of Fernandes’ statement.

Sharad Pawar of the fledgling Nationalist Congress Party chose to ignore the attack on George for his statement while Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh put it mildly by saying that in defence matters extra care should be takenwhen statements are made.

Some leaders, including Madhukar Sarpotdar (Shiv Sena), criticised Vajpayee’s principal secretary, Brajesh Mishra, for his statement on Kargil a few days ago on a private TV channel. Mishra had stated that Pakistan was perhaps planning to enter the Kargil-Drass sector when the Prime Minister was going to Lahore by bus.

The Prime Minister did not touch on this sensitive issue during his concluding remarks.

During his 15-minute address to the 32 representative of political parties, Fernandes made the startling disclosure that it was only on the night of May 12 that the Army informed him of the intrusion. The Army Headquarters, according to Fernandes, itself learnt about it on May 6 through a shepherd in a Kargil village.

Fernandes said the Army made two attempts — first on May 8 and another soon thereafter — to push the infiltrators back. It was only after these failed and it realised the extent of damage caused that it informed him of the situation.

Some leaders who werepresent at the meeting told The Indian Express that this was considered another attempt by Fernandes to indicate that he was not in tune with the forces.

Neither Fernandes nor senior officers of the Army and Air Force who gave a detailed briefing to the leaders earlier were willing to say categorically when exactly the intrusions took place. It was stated that the infiltrators had penetrated the Indian territory by 4 to 6 kilometres with highly sophisticated weapons and were well-entrenched.

Among the Opposition parties, Congress, CPM, CPI and RJD were extremely vocal in their criticism of the handling of the issue by the Government, saying it was not speaking in one voice.

It was unanimously agreed that since it was Pakistan which had violated the Shimla and Lahore declarations, all out efforts be made at diplomatic and other levels to isolate it. It was at this juncture that former Prime Minister I K Gujral gave an account of his talks with UN secretary-general Kofi Annan and Nawaz Sharif.

It wasunanimously decided that all controversies be set aside in this hour of crisis. The leaders also got a feeling that the crisis could continue for longer than anticipated earlier.

The leaders were given an audio-visual presentation by Director General of Military Operations Lt.Gen M C Vij and Additional Chief of Air Staff (Ops) Air Vice Marshal S K Mallik about the situation.

Four infiltrators, 2 armymen killed

SRINAGAR: Four armed infiltrators and two Army men have been killed in skirmishes along the LoC as security forces effectively repulsed Pakistani efforts to push in militants into Jammu and Kashmir where a civilian was killed in shelling from across the border. Two infiltrators were killed as Army personnel engaged a group of over ten youths who were trying to sneak into the Indian side in Nowshera in Rajouri district on Friday night, official sources said.

The others, however, managed to escape. Security forces gunned down two more infiltrators while Pakistani troops were trying to pushthem into Indian territory in Bhimber Gali in Poonch district, they said.Meanwhile, Defence Minister George Fernandes arrived here this afternoon to review the Kargil situation. Immediately after his arrival, Fernandes was taken to 15 Corps headquarter where he was briefed about the Kargil situation by senior Army officers.