Home minister L K Advani on Monday asked parties to refrain from politicising issues relating to national security and terrorism saying this is not in national interest. "I appeal to all political parties to refrain from politicising issues like national security and terrorism as this is not in national interest", he said while addressing a BJP election meeting in Noida.

In an apparent attack on Samajwadi Party, which is critical of ban on SIMI, the Home Minister said, "Nobody should defend SIMI and ask for lifting the ban on it as it was playing the role of recruiting agent for Inter-Services Intelligence of Pakistan." Recalling that Pakistan had been defeated in the three conflicts with India in 1947, 1965 and 1971, he said that country has adopted a new strategy of infiltration, proxy war and terrorism. For almost ten years since 1980, Pakistan had waged a proxy war in Punjab which killed a large number of BJP workers, Advani said. He said it was tough handling that ended terrorism in Punjab and now the government was determined to root out the problem in Jammu and Kashmir.

Bureau Report