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India Extends Ceasefire in Kashmir Till End of May
Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee announced Thursday that his government had decided for the third time to extend the ceasefire in Kashmir till the end of May.
In a statement delivered at the joint sitting of both houses of parliament, Vajpayee said the decision was made after examination of "all aspects of the question in its totality."
India first announced ceasefire in Kashmir on November 19, 2000, during the holy month of Ramadan and then extended it twice up till February 26.
Declaring that his government was pursuing a multi-pronged strategy to bring peace and normalcy in Kashmir, Vajpayee said the ceasefire was "warmly welcomed" by the people in the disputed region, who are longing for an end to militancy and violence.
"The international community has also given overwhelming support, because it sees in it yet another demonstration of India' s sincere commitment to a peaceful and permanent solution to the Kashmir issue," he added.
Vajpayee insisted that New Delhi had seriously addressed the question of continuing with the peace process and further extending the period of non-initiation of combat operation by Indian security forces.
In this regard, he said, his government had benefited by detailed briefing of the consultations with all political parties that it had Wednesday.
The Cabinet Committee on Security decided Wednesday evening to extended the ceasefire after an 80-minute meeting.
The decision came hours after an all-party meeting, which favored further extension of the on-going ceasefire but asked the government to be vigilant against militants and infiltrators in Kashmir.
Vajpayee made it "abundantly clear that the peace process is only for those that wish to benefit from it," saying India would not let this process be derailed, diluted or misused.
He warned that Indian forces had "clear instructions to act decisively and to defeat" those who had vowed to disrupt the peace process, or intend to continue with violence and the killing of innocents in Kashmir.
The prime minister expressed the hope that Pakistan would "act, even now, and abjure violence, give up their continuous hostile propaganda against India, stop promoting and aiding cross-border terrorism, take the path of peace through bilateral talks," thus creating a conducive atmosphere so that comprehensive dialogue process be resumed resulting in a lasting solution to the Kashmir problems.
The ceasefire was supported by majority of political parties of the country and reports from Kashmir said that violence and attacks in the area have reduced dramatically during the last three months.
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