'Govt willing to extend truce with NE ultras'

KOLKATA, March 4: The Centre was willing to extend the ceasefire to all militant groups in the Northeast, Union Home Minister L K Advani indicated here today. Speaking to newsmen at the Calcutta airport during a brief stopover on his way to Port Blair on a special aircraft, he said the Chief Ministers of Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh had also favoured such a step during their discussions with him. "The stand of both the Chief Ministers is now flexible. Appropriate steps would be taken by the government in due course," he stated, adding that there was no need for a mid-term review of the ongoing ceasefire with the NSCN. Advani felt that the Centre's strategy in mobilising international opinion against militant groups was yielding results as had been revealed by the recent banning of several such extremist outfits in the United Kingdom. According to him, the recent attacks on security forces in Jammu and Kashmir were 'adventures by suicide squads' and such incidents are a part of the 'continuing battle against militants in the State in which there will be ups and downs." "But there were not very many incidents during the ceasefire. On the whole what needs to be understood is that the ceasefire does not mean abandoning the existing battle against militants. About 200 militants had been killed during the last three months,' said Advani. "We are confident of being able to defeat Pakistan in this proxy war," he said. Referring to Tripura, he said there were similar problems in some Northeast states. 'For sometime however there is a positive indication of a general fatigue among the militant ranks as is being indicated by the frequent surrenders by the militants. Now there is a general feeling among the people that enough is enough," he said. Advani will be presiding over the first meeting of the Home Ministry's Port Blair advisory committee tomorrow before returning to Delhi on Tuesday.