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Ministers' panel submits Kargil report

A group of ministers, which reviewed the national security system in the wake of the Kargil conflict, on Monday submitted its report to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and is understood to have recommended the creation of a post of chief of defence staff for greater co-ordination in the security apparatus.

The 137-page report is believed to have suggested that the chief of defence staff should report directly to the prime minister.

It is also believed to have recommended that the post of the national security adviser should be a permanent one.

The GoM, headed by Home Minister L K Advani and comprising Defence Minister George Fernandes, External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh, Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha and National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra, met Vajpayee in Parliament House and submitted the report.

The GoM, which was set up on April 17 and held 27 meetings to finalise its recommendations, is also understood to have suggested an enhanced role for the Ministry of External Affairs in the working of India's external intelligence arm - the Research and Analysis Wing.

RAW is currently under the cabinet secretariat and the report is believed to have suggested that the MEA should have an increased say in its functioning.

The report reviews the national security system in its entirety and considers the recommendations of the Kargil Review Committee headed by defence analyst K Subrahmanyam.

The epilogue of the report provides a framework for effective implementation of the GoM's recommendations contained in the report, the sources said.

The GoM had set up four task forces on intelligence apparatus, internal security, border management and defence management.

These were headed respectively by Jammu and Kashmir Governor G C Saxena, former home secretary N N Vohra, former home secretary Madhav Godbole and Arun Singh, former Union minister who now advises the MoE on security matters.

PTI

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