Srinagar:
Home Minister P Chidambaram has said Pakistan is desperate to push terrorists trained within its borders into India. Speaking in Srinagar, where he's helping to prepare the ground for the Prime Minister's visit, the Home Minister said infiltration attempts have increased after India's general elections in May.
"Infiltrators from Pakistan are desperate to cross over to India but we have a zero tolerance policy," Chidambaram said.
Praising the efforts of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, the minister said the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir has improved in recent times. "Today our forces are on top of the situation. The security situation is much better for example in the current year the number of incidents have only been 395. It's the lowest in the last 8-9 years."
He said intelligence has also improved.
"Infiltration is taking place and I must admit that we've not been able to completely stop it although it has come down thanks to the vigil of our security forces. After the parliamentary elections, there has been a spurt in infiltration. One can see desperation on the part of Pakistan and the PoK authorities to infiltrate. The numbers did rise in 2-3 months but now the snows will come and so infiltration will come down for the next 4-5 months."
The minister emphasized that no matter what was the political cause, there was no place for violence in J&K. "We hope by continuing our policy we will bring an end to militancy. There is no place for violence in J&K whatever be the political cause," he said.
The home minister made it clear that the main responsibility of maintaining law and order in the state was with the J&K Police, but he added, "The role of the army is also important i.e. to defend the borders of India".
"Violence does not lead anywhere, the people of J&K have realised that... our problem is from infiltration. Many of our projects are proceeding at different speeds, some are slow and some are lagging behind. Ministers are being advised to visit J&K more often... we must make it a habit. J&K's development is integral to India's development," Chidambaram said.