Fernandes rules out 'hot pursuit' in J&K

NEW DELHI, AUG. 26. The Defence Minister, Mr. George Fernandes, today ruled out hot pursuit of terrorists across the line of control (LoC) saying any action to attack and destroy terrorist camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) would invariably result in deaths of innocent people.

``Terrorist camps in PoK and other areas across LoC are not exclusive zones but are located in civilian enclaves,'' he told reporters here.

Mr. Fernandes said ``any action to attack and destroy these camps will invariably cause collateral damage resulting in deaths of innocent men, women and children and, therefore, would be against the humanitarian principles India has always stood for''.

Stressing that New Delhi was determined to defeat Pakistan-backed proxy war for the last 10 years, he said India was capable of countering Islamabad's designs, thanks to the determination of the Army.

Mr. Fernandes said that in matters of national security ``there cannot be a last word till the last of the enemy was annihilated''. The Government, he said, was empowered to take any significant decision keeping the country's security interests in view.

Maintaining that the proxy war involved Pakistan's attempts to encroach Indian territory by overrunning a post here or there, Mr. Fernandes said another issue of concern was infiltration of terrorists by Islamabad into India.

Foreigners, he said, constituted 70 per cent of mercenaries active in Jammu and Kashmir who were equipped with ``most modern'' weapons and means of communications besides improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and high explosive RDX to target anyone including innocent civilians.

The Defence Minister paid tributes to the valour of army and air force personnel who had successfully evicted Pakistani incursions in Kargil last year without crossing the LoC.

Hizb's denial

The Hizb-ul-Mujahideen denied that it was in touch with the Centre as claimed by the Defence Minister and said the contact was snapped on August 8 when the group called off its ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir.

``There is no contact between the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen and the Government at any level,'' the outfit's spokesman 'Commander' Masood said in a statement here.

Mr. Fernandes had told BBC's ``Hardtalk India'' programme that the Government had ``well-established'' contacts with the Hizb in Kashmir.

Mr. Masood said the contact between the Government and the Hizb was snapped on August 8 when New Delhi did not ``concede our demand for tripartite talks (involving Pakistan) to solve the Kashmir issue''.

He also took exception to the former Hurriyat chairman, Syed Ali Shah Geelani's reported remarks that the Hizb leader, Mr. Abdul Majid Dar, had announced the ceasefire on August 24 without taking into confidence the Pakistan-based chief of the outfit, Syed Salahuddin.

- PTI

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