New Delhi : Just a couple of days after the revival of India-Pakistan peace moves, home minister P Chidambaram on Feb 7 warned of "dark forces" across the border that were implacably opposed to India and which would stop short of nothing less than forcible annexation of Kashmir.

The home minister's plainspeak at the meeting of CMs also saw Prime Minister Manmohan Singh underlining his concern at infiltration of jihadi elements from Pakistan-controlled territory. The home minister sought the cooperation of chief ministers in defeating terrorist groups' targeting India at all costs. Coming against the backdrop of wariness over the fresh peace initiative with Pakistan, the remarks of the PM and Chidambaram underline why the government would like to tread cautiously and could also serve to reassure that the government is alive to the undiminished terror threat.

Referring to the meeting of anti-India jihadi groups organised by Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed in Muzzafarabad in PoK on Feb 4, Chidambaram said, "It is clear that these groups are implacably opposed to India; their weapons are mayhem and violence and their goal is forcible annexation of Kashmir." JUD's terror arm Lashkar-e-Toiba and Hizbul Mujahideen were among the groups present. In what may sound like a reality check for the proposed re-engagement with Pakistan 14 months after 26/11, Chidmabaram said, "Let me make it clear: these dark forces will not succeed in their designs. We will defeat them whenever and wherever we confront them." Singh pointed out that Jammu and Kashmir had borne the "brunt of the actions of (jihadi) groups".

The meeting saw a serious exchange of assessments and unlike on Feb 6, when Opposition CMs and UPA clashed over price rise, the atmosphere was one of shared concern. Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, who had been critical of UPA on price rise, did not stint in praising the Centre's new proactive attitude. "The response of the home minister is swift and positive," he said. Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh also expressed similar sentiments. Bihar CM Nitish Kumar said the states were looking to work closely with the Centre and asked for assistance in procuring sophisticated weapons that were required for anti-terrorist operations. He said the Centre could help the states in improving the capacity of their forces to take on heavily armed and motivated terror groups.

The PM said while there had been a marked decline in the number of terrorist incidents from 2008 to 2009, "infiltration levels have shown an increase in the same period. Recently, there have been some incidents which are disturbing", referring to a sudden spurt in infiltration and attacks in Jammu and Kashmir. Listing various threats to internal security in the country including threats from across the border, Naxal insurgency in north-east and the forces that are trying to divide society on "communal and regional lines", the PM said, "Each one of these threats requires a strong effort, determination, hard work and continuous vigilance to tackle. These threats to our society, to our polity and country constitute a challenge that we must and we shall meet effectively at all costs".

Apart from coordinating efforts, Singh listed specific steps which the states could take. He said, "I would like to take this opportunity to urge the chief ministers to create Special Intervention Units in their states to enhance the speed and decisiveness of the quick response teams", besides developing specialized commando forces which could be deployed to act as a deterrent to terrorist designs. Chidambaram said there had been no significant terrorist attack and no significant communal violence in the last 14 months which was a matter of satisfaction but that did not mean that the country was not vulnerable to terror strikes. "We must remain vigilant. We must continue the work on enhancing capacity. And we must reform our institutions and systems of governance in order to pre-empt terrorist threats and prevent communal discord," he said.