Banks Told To Follow Y2k Checklist

Banks Told To Follow Y2k Checklist

Defence minister George Fernandes, Air Vice-Marshal SK Malik and Lieutenant General MC Viz yesterday briefed the BJP executive on the Kargil situation. They expressed confidence that the intruders would be driven out soon.

 

They did not specify any time frame but explained in detail the topography of the Kargil sector and the positions taken up by the intruders.

 

The BJP had convened the emergency meeting to discuss the situation and present a coherent party response. Most members were unaware of the complexities involved and were shy of taking a position, one BJP leader said.

 

The BJP defended the briefs given by the two officers at the executive meeting and claimed there was no politics involved. General secretary Narendra Modi said the party wanted to be "educated on the situation."

 

 

Spokesperson M Venkaiah Naidu said other parties could get similar briefings if they

 

wanted.

 

However, the Congress and the CPI(M) questioned the

 

exercise.

 

Natwar Singh, the Congress's foreign affairs expert said they were not sure if the briefing was the correct step since a similar briefing was held during an all-party meeting on Sunday.

 

The two experts and Fernandes said Pakistan might have airlifted the intruders and their arms and ammunitions to the mountain tops in the Kargil region.

 

They appeared to be specially trained to stay at an altitude of 16,000 ft.

 

Fernandes cited this as one more proof of the involvement of Pakistani regulars.

 

Wireless messages intercepted by the Indian intelligence specified the intruders were being trained for the past five years.

 

They have switched from speaking in Pushto to Persian, prompting the Indian government to post Persian language experts in the region for quick interpretation of the messages.

 

Malik explained the difficulty in aerial attacks in the northern side of the Kargil sector.

 

Air force planes moving at great speed would invariably have to cross the line of control. The air strikes had been carried out on the East-West axis to

 

avoid this, he told the BJP leaders.