Indian Defence Minister Favours Hot Pursuit in Kashmir

By Fayaz Wani

Continuing the hot pursuit policy against the militants, the Indian defence minister, A K Antony on Tuesday called on troops to continue killing militants in the violence-hit Kashmir.

The Indian defence minister arrived here on a two-day visit to review the security scenario in Kashmir. Immediately, after his arrival in the summer capital, the Indian defence minister chaired a high level meeting, which was attended among others by Indian army Chief, Gen Deepak Kapoor, Indian Defence Secretary Vijay Singh, Chief Secretary S S Kapoor, Special Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, ML Kumawat and senior security and state government officials.

The Indian defence minister lauded the role of troops in restoring peace to Kashmir. He said that the pressure on militants have to be maintained at all costs.

"The sacrifice and determined efforts of soldiers has helped in bringing down the level of militancy related violence in Kashmir," he said.

The Indian defence minister called on the troops deployed in Kashmir to continue the hot pursuit against the militants. "The troops should achieve the objective of neutralizing the militants with a minimum inconvenience to the people," he said.

Antony said the coming months are going to be crucial as there are forces within and outside Kashmir, which will make efforts to thwart the process of holding the assembly elections in the violence-hit Kashmir. The elections are scheduled to be held in October this year.

He said the Government of India was committed to holding the elections in the Kashmir in a free, fair and transparent manner. He also reiterated the prime Minister's commitment to zero tolerance on human right violations and said there would be no compromise on that.

Fayaz Wani reports on life in Srinagar, Kashmir.