ELECTIONS IN JAMMU & KASHMIR TO BE HELD ON
SCHEDULE
INTERVIEW GIVEN BY SHRI L.K.
ADVANI, DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER, TO CHANNEL 4 TELEVISION IN LONDON
ON AUGUST 21, 2002
Elections to the Jammu & Kashmir
assembly would be held on schedule and they would be fully free
and fair, Deputy Prime Minister Shri L.K. Advani has said. At
the same time, he has accused Pakistan of sabotaging the polls
by creating an atmosphere of fear in the State.
"Incidents like the massacre
of innocent persons at Kaluchak and Kasim Nagar, and the assassination
of Hurriyat Conference leader Abdul Gani Lone, who wanted his
organisation to take part in the polls, are a big damper on the
smooth conduct of the elections," Advani said.
He made these observations in an
interview given to Channel 4 television in London this morning.
Advani arrived here yesterday on a four-day visit to Britain on
what is his first visit abroad after becoming the Deputy Prime
Minister.
He said that representatives of the
embassies of foreign countries in New Delhi, as also foreign media
correspondents, were free to visit Jammu & Kashmir to observe
the conduct of the assembly elections. "However, I must hasten
to state that our own Indian press is very vigilant and it highlights
the Government’s shortcomings more effectively than anyone else
can," he added.
Advani was also categorical in stating
that "until cross-border terrorism is stopped, there is no
point in resuming talks with Pakistan."
Asked whether cross-border terrorism
had reduced, he replied in the negative. "It is still considerable,
although there has been some reduction in infiltration because
of international pressure on Pakistan. However, infiltration is
only one aspect of cross-border terrorism. There are other components
of cross-border terrorism – training of terrorists, financing
them, providing arms to them, letting terrorist camps to continue
to function on Pakistani soil. In short, Pakistan must dismantle
the entire infrastructure of cross-border terrorism."
He noted that "Pakistan is under
great pressure, both internationally and internally. Having promoted
fundamentalism to harass India, it is facing harassment itself
to some extent."
To another question, he said that
"India, America and Britain are natural allies in the fight
against terrorism."
Asked about the flow of funds from
Britain to terrorist organisations in India’s neighbourhood, the
Home Minister said that "far more funds are coming to them
directly from our neighbour."
Replying to a question about his
relationship with Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, he
said, "I look forward to Vajpayeeji giving leadership to
India for a long time. We two together are doing our best for
the country, for the government and for the party. Ours is the
best possible partnership that one can think of. At the same time,
we are building a new and younger team of leaders."
