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Monday,
June 3, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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India not to be impulsive, George tells security conference
USA ready
to aid, not mediate on Kashmir Is
President Musharraf in control? |
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Battered
staffer to be sent to India Al-Qaida
warns USA of another attack US
operation to plug Afghan escape routes
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India not to be impulsive, George tells security conference
Singapore, June 2 "I assure you ladies and gentlemen, India will not be impulsive," he said in a speech at a conference of defence ministers and other security officials gathered here. "Neither will we waver in our determination for the simple reason that what we have been fighting and will continue to fight is the war against terrorism, the same terrorism which hit the World Trade Center and the Pentagon," he said. Fernandes wept at one point in his speech when he described violence in Kashmir. "I’m sorry for the difficulty I have every time I think of this," he told the delegates." “All we expect from the Musharraf regime is that it desist from supporting terrorism,” Mr Fernandes told Defence Ministers and policy makers from North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific at the Asian security conference here. As the United Nations and several countries began withdrawing diplomatic staff from South Asia in the face of growing war rhetoric, he accused Pakistan of fuelling fears by “threatening to use weapons of mass destruction”. But while both countries have one million troops massed along their common border, he played down the prospect of war. Talk of a major conflict on the subcontinent rose following a statement by Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf that Pakistan’s existence was under threat, but the statement had “more drama in it than any reason,” Mr Fernandes said. Mr Fernandes said the January pledge by Pervez Musharraf to crack down on terrorism following a deadly attack on Indian Parliament in December was “merely cosmetic” and cross-border attacks continued in Indian territory. “The country is angry and anguished,” the Defence Minister said. “The pressure on our PM, Mr Vajpayee to launch an attack on terrorists is intense. But we have held back.” He later told reporters that the conference should send a message to President Musharraf that the terrorist situation must change “and it can be changed in 24 hours and at the most 48 hours.” But Mr Fernandes ruled out room for an international forum to handle the Kashmir issue. “We have to resolve the problems between ourselves and I believe that we are capable of resolving those problems if ... the USA plays its role.” Mr Fernandes in his speech said there had been in recent days an “intemperate assertion from Islamabad that Pakistan may use nuclear weapons if India takes military action.” “We must look at why Pakistan is... threatening to use weapons of mass destruction... is this not an attempt to blackmail India and the rest of the global community.” Mr Fernandes also downplayed such a scenario, reiterating that there was “no way that India will ever use the nuclear weapon other than treat it as a deterrent.” Kyodo reported that Mr Fernandes welcomed President Musharraf’s comment yesterday rejecting the possibility of a nuclear war. “The fact that from his earlier declarations of using the nuclear options, he has now said that it is only insane minds that could think of it” is a great development and should be welcomed, he said. “It is only insane people who could think of using the nuclear option. He has recanted from the position that he has taken. So the issue ends there. We don’t have to have controversy over that anymore,” he added.
AP, AFP |
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USA ready to aid, not mediate on Kashmir Washington, June 2 “Our role has been to encourage dialogue and a reduction of violence that would improve the atmosphere for productive discussions,” a State Department official said yesterday on condition of anonymity. “We do not seek a mediator’s role but we would be prepared to provide facilitative assistance, if the parties requested it.” Two persons were killed and 39 wounded in three grenade attacks in the region, according to the Srinagar police. Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf prepared to leave today for an international forum in Almaty, Kazakhstan, that could offer both sides a convenient venue for talks on reducing bilateral tensions. But as diplomats searched for signs of the two countries’ readiness to step back from the brink, General Musharraf earlier made clear he was not inclined to make the first move. “I have initiated such steps so many times, and I thought maybe a response needs to come from the other side now,” he said in an interview with CNN television. The Pakistani President repeated his assurances yesterday that infiltration of militants from Pak-occupied Kashmir had been stopped. But the second-ranking US Defence Department official, visiting Singapore, disputed these assertions. “We remain very concerned about the infiltration across the Line of Control. That is at the heart of the problem,” said Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, who met in Singapore earlier with Defence Minister George Fernandes. The talks came as a leading US think-tank issued a report showing India would have a little success in efforts to seal off Kashmiri mountain passes or in striking rebel training camps in the PoK. To seal off the passes, India would have to achieve a 30:1 to 50:1 manpower superiority in the area, according to the report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. An Indian ground assault would be very costly because Pakistani positions are well-fortified, while air strikes would have a little effect because the camps can be easily rebuilt, the report added.
AFP |
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Is President Musharraf in control? GENERAL Pervez Musharraf’s admission that his supporters had gone overboard and voted more than once in the recent referendum has confirmed what Pakistani critics have been saying: that massive rigging took place. The world is now watching what kind of a democracy the military dictator with the largest numbers of hats will bring to Pakistan. Already voices are being heard that he is not in control and hopes are expressed that a caretaker government must oversee the forthcoming polls in October. Khalid Hasan writes in Daily Times from Washington: “India, according to a leading US expert on South Asia, is hoping for a change in Pakistani leadership since it believes that with President Pervez Musharraf in charge, a return to normal relations is entirely ruled out. “ ‘The Indians find Musharraf both unreliable and distasteful,’ the expert, who did not wish to be identified, told this scribe. He said the view in New Delhi was that it would be best for everyone if Musharraf were to step down. The military leadership in Pakistan may have come to a point where it wants Musharraf to do an Iskander Mirza and leave rather than do a Yahya and push the country over the precipice, he said. “ ‘The nightmare scenario is that Musharraf has brought Pakistan exactly where Yahya had brought it in 1971 — on the edge of disaster,’ the expert told Daily Times, adding ‘no one wants a repeat of the situation where one man’s blind ambition and refusal to see things as they are destroys an entire country. "Initially", he explained. ‘Musharraf may have been viewed, despite his role in Kargil, as a person with whom business was possible, but his growing megalomania and his penchant for trying to outmanoeuvre everybody left even his well-wishers frustrated and convinced that the best thing for both Pakistan and the region would be for Musharraf to either leave or be eased out.’ The expert said that in case Musharraf does not leave, he might be persuaded to shed some of the powers he has assumed. However, the way he was going and the wide-ranging amendments to the 1973 constitution that were now on the anvil held out little hope of that happening, he added.” Khalid Hasan adds: “The expert said the referendum had weakened Musharraf and seriously damaged his credibility. His contempt for legitimate, mainstream political parties and their leaders, led by Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto, had further created the impression in world capitals that the kind of one-man rule
Musharraf wanted to impose on Pakistan would only bring disaster, not only to his own nation but the region as a whole. “In the event of military action by India, many in Washington believe, the first casualty would be Gen Musharraf,” Khalid Hasan reported. News says from Lahore that Federal Minister for Information Nisar Memon asked about calling an all-party conference on the border situation said President Musharraf had from time to time been consulting politicians and people from all walks of society on important national issues. “If India attacks Pakistan, it will find the entire nation united and there is no need to call an all-party conference (APC)” Nation says editorially: “US Assistant Secretary of State Christina Rocca’s visit will not help in defusing tension between the two countries. Pakistan’s unstinted and full cooperation in the US war on Al-Qaeda seems not to have won it much credibility. The USA does not apparently accept the primarily indigenous nature of the Kashmiri struggle, nor does it accept Pakistan’s stand that it cannot be held responsible for the attack on India’s Parliament. “The USA has already expressed concern that two benchmarks have not been met by Pakistan; the level of guerrilla activity in Kashmir has not reduced, and those behind the December 13 attack on Indian Parliament have not been nabbed, Pakistan’s unstinted and full cooperation in the US war on Al-Qaeda seems not to have won it much credibility. “Reports in the US media are now taking the line that General Musharraf is not in control of his intelligence agencies, which are carrying out their own Afghan and Kashmir agendas. This is a transparent attempt to intrude into Pakistan’s internal affairs. Like the proverbial camel, now that the Americans are in the tent, they appear to want to push the Pakistan government out. It may or may not be linked to simultaneous reports that Pakistan is resisting further raids into the tribal areas.” Nation adds: “The government should be aware of the dangers looming ahead. This is a bad time for extraneous entanglements, as the country is focusing on returning to democracy and constitutional rule after the October election government must firm up the home front by asking all sections of opinion for support, not just the usual list of tame politicians, and consulting with whatever foreign friends it was left, China being the foremost.” Dawn reports from Brussels: “Europe’s External Relations Commissioner Chris Patten arrives in Islamabad with a clear message for President Pervez Musharraf: stamp down harder on terrorism and keep Pakistan on track for democracy and elections in October. “But Mr Patten’s mission is about more than just attempting to build bridges between the two historical adversaries. EU governments are worried at what they see as Pakistan’s failure to fully implement pledges to persecute or hand over all perpetrators linked with terrorist activities in India. Many in Europe are increasingly concerned at Pakistan’s alleged sponsorship of Kashmiri terrorist groups. Dawn adds that Patten said: “I will be interested in what the government in Pakistan has to say about its attempts to prevent terrorism being generated by extremists on Pakistan soil. I want to be able to assure EU foreign ministers that Pakistani authorities were doing everything they could to make sure that melting snows in the Himalayas did not lead to an increase in terrorist activity in Kashmir. “I think that there will be a great deal of interest in the European Union in what democracy is actually going to mean in Pakistan after the elections. Trying to ensure that there is a stable political and constitutional structure which is pluralist and democratic and which has the ability to deal vigorously with terrorism and extremism is a very difficult task. We do not underestimate the challenge, which President Musharraf has in front to him.
ADNI |
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Battered staffer to be sent to India
Islamabad, June 2 Mr Kulwant Singh would be sent either via Dubai or by road through Wagah border, he said. Pakistani authorities did not permit Mr Kulwant Singh to receive proper medical treatment at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Science, the only premier government-owned referral facility, Mr Vyas said, adding that Mr Kulwant Singh sustained serious injuries during the four-and-a-half hour long violent interrogation by intelligence officials. Mr Vyas charged Pakistani security officials with interfering at every stage of the medical examination. He said Pakistani medical experts, after long delay, concluded that Mr Kulwant Singh suffered trauma in lower spinal region as well as damage to spinal tissues. Whereas the Indian High Commission’s doctor said he had suffered damage to bones in the spinal region and needed urgent medical attention. Citing medico-legal implications, the hospital refused to admit Mr Kulwant Singh. He was discharged just after medical examination, the Charge de Affaires said. He
said the High Commission made all out efforts to get a second medical
opinion on the injuries suffered by Mr Kulwant Singh, who was
hand-cuffed and severely beaten. The abductors twisted his legs to the
extent of causing serious damage to the pelvis region.
PTI
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Al-Qaida warns
USA of another attack Cairo, June 2 ''What is coming to the Americans will not, by the will of God, be less than what has come,'' the paper quoted Al-Qaida spokesman Sulaiman bu Ghaith as saying in a statement. ''So beware, America. Get ready. Get prepared. Put on the safety belt,'' he said in a statement the Al-Hayat said was published on the www.alneda.com web site. The web site, which has in the past regularly carried news on Afghanistan and statements it said came from Taliban leaders, could not be accessed immediately by Reuters. A Kuwaiti-born cleric who emerged as an Al-Qaida spokesman after the September 11 attacks, he said Al-Qaida would continue to hit Americans, Jews and their targets, either “individuals or institutions”.
Reuters |
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US operation to
plug Afghan escape routes Islamabad, June 2 Combat helicopters kept a watch on the operation from the air, the Pakistan-based agency said. It said the troops took up positions at the unfrequented entry points near the authorised Torkham border crossing point and spread out to the south which has many secret passages. Sasobi is one such famous passage through which thousands of Afghans cross into Pakistan daily, the agency said. Pakistan had deployed troops to interdict the remnants of Islamic Taliban and Al-Qaida networks being hunted inside Afghanistan.
DPA |
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