GUWAHATI, Dec 5 ? Defence Minister George today accused Bangladesh government of not taking any step to drive out the ULFA and NDFB militants taking shelter in camps set up in that country. Talking to newmen at the Army base in Narengi here this afternoon, George alleged that Pakistani ISI?s hand had become obvious behind Bangladesh government?s inaction vis-a-vis evicting militants from Northeast from that country.
?We know there are ULFA and NDFB camps both in Bhutan and Bangladesh. However, despite repeated appeal from Indian government Bangladesh is not taking any action against these militant outfits. Probably it is under pressure from forces which prevent it from doing so. The hand of ISI is predominantly showing,? he said.Ruling out any possibility of Indian Army launching an operation in Bhutan to flush out ULFA and NDFB militants from there, the Defence Minister said the Royal Government of Bhutan had been trying its best to persuade the extremists groups to leave the soil of the Himalayan kingdom.
Earlier, addressing Army jawans at the base, the Defence Minister said that ? The solution to the Indo-Pak problem doesn?t lie in the battlefield but can be found through bi-lateral discussion?. He struck a positive note over Pakistan?s response to India?s appeal for ceasefire in Siachen height in addition to the silence of the gun along the LoC in J-K sector.
He informed that Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee would visit Pakistan to have discussion with Genereal Musharraf there in near future. He said the global community held the Indian Army in high esteem particularly after the Kargil battle and stated that it was the reason for which the United States showed keen interest in Indian Army?s participation in restructuring of war-ravaged Iraq.The Defence Minister informed that Indian Army would hold a major exhibition of its armoury and skills somewhere in Rajasthan within the next fortnight.