NEW DELHI, Oct 27: India's opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) endorsed hardline Hindutva leader Lal Krishan Advani as its new president on Tuesday, supported peace talks with Pakistan but slammed the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) for underplaying the cross border terrorism issue with Islamabad.

"UPA government has lowered its guard against cross-border terrorism," the BJP's National Council said in a policy statement.

It said the BJP was of the view that India's ongoing dialogue with Pakistan should continue. "However, the government must not lower its guard against cross-border terrorism, whose base and infrastructure in Pakistan continues to be intact. In this context, the party voices its concern over the absence of an explicit reference to 'cross-border terrorism' in the joint press statement issued after Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh's recent meeting with President Gen Pervez Musharraf."

The BJP was deeply concerned that the momentum for peace and normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir, which it claimed had picked up during the Vajpayee government, has run aground, the party said.

It pointed out that the last five months had witnessed four assassination attempts on the state chief minister, the last one having taken place on the same day that Dr Manmohan Singh was holding talks with Gen Musharraf in New York.

Only three days ago, Dr Farooq Abdullah, the former chief minister of J&K, and Omar Abdullah, president of the National Conference, survived a deadly terrorist attack. As many as 51 political activists have been assassinated by terrorists so far this year, the BJP asserted.

"The National Council demands that the UPA government end its callous neglect of the phenomenon of "refugee-isation" of Kashmiri Pandits in their own country. The Party also reiterates its demand to immediately set up autonomous regional councils for Jammu and Ladakh with adequate financial and administrative powers," the BJP said.-J.N.