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J&K CM rushes to Delhi

Mukhtar Ahmad in Srinagar

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah rushed to Delhi this morning. Accompanied by the state police chief, he would attend a high-level review meeting of the Kargil situation.

The visit follows Dr Abdullah's two-day tour of Leh and Kargil.

Highly placed sources said that he would brief the central leadership about the ground situation in Ladakh. He would return to Srinagar in the evening.

Addressing a gathering in the devastated Kargil town, he had said, "We will not hesitate to offer any sacrifice to teach the enemy a lesson. We will never make any compromise with the sovereignty and integrity of the nation."

He said Pakistan has ''crossed the Line of Control in violation of all agreements".

"When India was following the path of friendship with Pakistan, they were engineering intrusion on our soil," he had observed. "How can Pakistan claim to be the champion of Muslims when they have made the Muslims of Kargil cannon-fodder? Their misadventure has caused a lot of miseries to the people who had to shift to other places for safety."

The crisis has "affected the supply of essentials in the district and all this is aimed at putting the innocent Muslims of the border district in misery".

Reiterating India's desire to have friendly relations with Pakistan, he said, "Let them allow us to live in peace.

"After a gap of several years tourism had been showing encouraging signs in the valley and the Kargil incidents had an adverse effect on this vital activity. The enemy is out to shatter our economy."

He promised Drass residents that they would be brought back from Leh to places near their dwellings.

Reminding the people of the plight of Kashmiri Pandits who had to leave the valley in the wake of militancy, he said, "The once-prosperous community is now living in refugee camps or limited dwelling space in Jammu and elsewhere in the country.''

He said his "long-cherished desire was to see the migrants back in their homes".

The Kargil Crisis

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