Guwahati: Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil today (Oct 3, 2004) said a long-term strategy for combating terrorism in the northeast will be soon formulated.

Stress is being given to ensure that there was good coordination among the States' law-enforcing agencies, Army, paramilitary forces and people in general, Patil told reporters at the Lokopriyo Gopinath International Airport in Guwahati before leaving for Dimapur in Nagaland.

Patil was in Guwahati on a brief visit to review the law and order situation in the State in the wake of violence by proscribed NDFB (National Democratic Front of Bodoland) at a high-level meeting with Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and senior State Government officials.

Insurgency was not only the problem of Assam alone but a major problem confronting the entire region and the Centre will provide all the expertise required to combat militancy in all the north-eastern States, he said.

''All help, including additional security forces, wherever necessary to ensure protection of human lives will be provided by the Centre,'' he added.

Referring to the blast at the Dimapur railway station yesterday, the Union Home Minister said it was imperative that a cordial relationship exists among all the seven NE States so that they can tackle the insurgency problem unitedly.

Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi making a presentation before Patil urged him to increase the strength of the security forces in Assam, as the existing forces were not enough to combat terrorism in the State.