Author: B L Kak
Publication: The Daily Excelsior
Date: April 26, 2001
India has rejected Pakistan's definition
of the existing International Border in Jammu as "working boundary". The
Government is determined not to permit Pakistan to prevent Indians from
constructing defensive structures along the International Border.
The Minister of State for External
Affairs, Mr UV Krishnam Raju, has made it plain that the term "working
boundary" cannot be applied to any part of the India-Pakistan boundary,
including the boundary between the two countries in Jammu region.
Mr Raju informed the Lok Sabha on
Wednesday that Indian security forces undertake the construction of defensive
structures along the international boundary in Jammu sector from time to
time. The nature and type of structure, he said in reply to a question
by Mr Ramsheth Thakur, was based on the evaluation of India's security
requirements.
In this context, Pakistan-sponsored
infiltration of terrorists into Jammu and Kashmir, Mr Raju argued, had
to be taken into account. He pronounced: "Our security forces will continue
to construct such defensive structures as are needed. Pakistan's objections
to the construction of any kind of defensive structures are untenable and
have been rejected by us".
While asserting that the State of
Jammu and Kashmir "is an integral part" of the Indian Union, Mr Raju told
the House that while a part of the territory of the State was under the
forcible and illegal occupation by Pakistan, under the Shimla Agreement
and the Lahore Declaration, both countries were committed to resolving
all outstanding issues peacefully through direct bilateral discussions.
The Minister of State for External
Affairs denied that Pakistan's military ruler, Gen Parvez Musharraf, had
invited the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, to Pakistan for talks
on the Kashmir issue. Mr Krishnam Raju confirmed that leaders of Pakistan's
military regime had been making frequent calls for the resumption of the
India-Pakistan dialogue, at any level, which is focused on the Kashmir
issue.
Pakistan, Mr Raju said, had, at
the same time, stepped up its sponsorship of cross-border terrorism in
Jammu and Kashmir. He, in fact, charged Pakistan with continuing its pursuit
of negative and hostile approach towards India.
Mr Raju, who was responding to a
question by Mr Subodh Ray, reiterated that the Jammu and Kashmir State
"is an integral part" of the Indian Union and pointed out that the Government
of India had, on several occasions, expressed the desire to resume the
composite dialogue that "seeks to build trust and confidence, establish
a stable structure of cooperation and address outstanding issues".
While emphasizing that an appropriate
environment is an obvious requirement for a meaningful dialogue, Mr Raju
said: "It is self-evident that Pakistan must end its sponsorship of cross-border
terrorism in India in order to create such an environment".
In his reply to a question by Mr
Ram Prasad Singh and Mr Ashok N Mohol, Mr Vidyasagar Rao, Minister of State
for Home Affairs, said that apart from raising objections to the construction
of defensive structures by Indian security forces along some segments of
the International Border in Jammu region, Pakistan had also resorted to
intermittent firing on BSF troops to create hindrance in the construction
work. Mr Rao said: "Our forces will continue to construct such defensive
structures as are needed to combat Pakistan's infiltration of terrorists
from across the border".
Mr Vidyasagar Rao stated in reply
to a question by Mr Manibhai Ramjibhai Chaudhri and Mr Bhupendra Sinh Solanki
that some portion of the security fencing on the Indo-Pakistan border had
been damaged due to floods and other natural causes, the details of which
"cannot be disclosed due to security reasons".
Mr Rao informed Mr Shivaji Mane
and Mr MVVS Murthi that even as people of Jammu and Kashmir have welcomed
New Delhi's peace initiative in the State, there has not been any positive
response from the militant groups so far. Mr Rao asserted that Army Headquarters
had been consulted at all states of the non-initiation of combat operations
in J&K and that the Army "is in the full agreement" with the Government
policy on peace process.
