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All-party meet favours
extension of J&K ceasefire

Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi

The all-party meeting convened in Parliament on Wednesday unanimously supported the extension of the ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir, but wanted the government to be alert in protecting the lives and properties of people, according to Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan.

Briefing reporters on the outcome of the two-and-a-half-hour meeting, Mahajan said that during the discussion, the members felt that the government's peace process in J&K had won the appreciation of the international community even while isolating Pakistan.

Mahajan pointed out that the participants in the meeting felt that firing on the J&K border had reduced drastically. However, more people had been killed during the ceasefire and in the last month alone, 215 militants had been gunned down.

Mahajan said that Union Home Minister L K Advani told the meeting that the people of J&K had espoused the ceasefire with all their hearts. According to Mahajan, Advani pointed out that the recent attack by militants on the Red Fort and massacre of Sikhs in Jammu were incidents which had to be tackled by the government.

The participants also made a strong case for the economic development of Kashmir. He said the meeting felt that "the ceasefire was no solution by itself, but was the first step towards a solution of the J&K problem and restoration of peace and normalcy there".

The minister pointed out that the duration of the extension of the ceasefire was not discussed. He pointed out that Prime Minister A B Vajpayee told the participants that the Cabinet Committee on Security would consider their suggestions.

According to Mahajan, some members expressed anger that Pakistan did not respond to the prime minister's peace initiatives in J&K.

The meeting was attended by 29 political leaders, including Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Samajwadi Party's Mulayam Singh, Communist Party of India-Marxist's Somnath Chatterjee and others. From the government side, besides Vajpayee, Advani, External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh, Defence Minister George Fernandes, Mahajan, Arjun Charan Sethi from the Biju Janata Dal, and the Akali Dal's Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa attended the meeting.

EARLIER REPORT
Cong, SP, CPI-M back J&K ceasefire

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