Pakistan puts focus on Kashmir to sidetrack terrorism: India

After Pakistan raked the Kashmir issue at a UN Security Council meeting on terrorism, India hit out at Islamabad for trying to sidetrack the problem of terrorism by raising this "extraneous" issue.

"The problem in the state (Jammu and Kashmir) is cross-border terrorism encouraged and incited by Pakistan despite repeated statements by the Council that terrorism is unjustified for whatever purpose -- political, economic and social," India's amassador to the UN Vijay K Nambiar said here Monday shortly after Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri's speech at the meet.

He said to equate with terrorism the action by the police to establish law and order in the face of violence by terrorists is a "travesty" of truth and "perversion" of values.

Kashmir, Nambiar said, is an integral part of India and people of the state have repeatedly expressed their determination to this effect. Only last year, there were elections to the state assembly where the turnout was much more than the sham parliamentary elections in Pakistan.

People of Jammu and Kashmir, he added, went to polling booths in large numbers despite intimidation by terrorist groups sponsored and supported by Pakistan.

Kasuri while raising the Kashmir issue at the meeting had accused India of "misusing" the campaign against terror to "denigrate and suppress the right of the people of Jammu and Kashmir to self determination".

Meanwhile, Indian Army Chief Gen N C Vij on Tuesday said there has been "o change of heart" on the part of Pakistan with regard to infiltration of terrorists from across the border but the situation in Jammu and Kashmir was improving following the holding of free and fair Assembly elections.

"They (Pakistan) are attempting their best (at infiltration) but we are keeping it in check. There has been no change of heart on their part but we are better prepared to check it," Gen Vij told reporters during a visit to the ongoing National Cadet Corps (NCC) Republic Day camp at the Delhi Cantonment here.

The Army Chief, however, said "things were looking up" in the state and the "LOC (Line of Control) is okay."

"We have had very good elections. It has given lot of hope and expectations," he said.

To a question on who would be the second-in-command in the Nuclear Command Structure, he said, "it is still being worked out."