In light of the massacre of 24 Pandits in Pulwama district, Deputy Prime Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani will soon convene a meeting of the Jammu and Kashmir government to discuss the security situation in the state.

Defence Minister George Fernandes, the Mufti and Governor G C Saxena will take part in the discussions, External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha said after a 90-minute meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security, chaired by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, in New Delhi on Tuesday night.

Advani and Fernandes will also hold talks with army chief General N C Vij, he added.

"The deputy prime minister apprised us of the visit that he made to Shopian, the place of the occurrence, and his impressions of the incident," Sinha said.

He said the international community had condemned the incident and the foreign ministers of the United States and Britain had phoned him to convey their feelings.

"We have also conveyed to them our concern about the ongoing terrorist activity from across the border. We have reasons to believe that all these activities are being masterminded from across the border. There is a need for the international community to recognise this fact once again. There is a need for us to become as careful about it as possible," he added.

Asked if the CCS had discussed the possibility of calling the army to protect the Kashmiri Pandits, he said all these issues would be discussed in the next few days.

He made it clear that Advani and Fernandes could also review the "healing touch" policy adopted by the Mufti.

Asked if the Mufti had abandoned his plan to rehabilitate the Pandits after the latest massacre, he said: "I am afraid you will have to ask this question to the chief minister himself."

The CCS also asked the US to end hostilities with Iraq, he said.

"The CCS reviewed the situation in Iraq and expressed concern at the humanitarian sufferings of the people of Iraq…" the minister said.

"It was also felt that the United Nations should act immediately both as far as the conflict itself is concerned and also in regard to the humanitarian dimension," he added.