M A I N   N E W S

Pak to avoid war, Musharraf tells Armitage

Islamabad, June 6
An envoy dispatched by US President George W. Bush today said Pakistan’s President assured him he wanted to do everything possible to avoid war with India.

Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said during a one-hour 45 minute meeting, President Pervez Musharraf “made it clear to me he wants to do everything he can to avoid war, and I think that’s a very good basis on which to proceed.”

“President Musharraf has made it very clear that he is searching for peace, that he won’t be the one to initiate war, and I’ll be looking for the same type of assurance tomorrow from Delhi,” Mr Armitage said.

Washington has expressed concern about the impact of the tensions on efforts to arrest Al-Qaida and Taliban fighters trying to infiltrate across Pakistan’s western border with Afghanistan. Pakistan already has pulled out some troops who have been helping Americans in the effort for possible redeployment to the eastern frontier with India.

“Some elements have moved, but the main activity on the western border of Pakistan seems unaffected in my view,” Mr Armitage said.

Mr Armitage, who has a reputation for blunt talk, arrived this morning and quickly went into a whirlwind series of meetings with Foreign Secretary Iman-ul-Haque, Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar and President Musharraf.

He said he would discuss that proposal with Indian officials when he flew to New Delhi tomorrow. Agencies

Armitage visit: PM confers with colleagues
Rajeev Sharma
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 6
Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee tonight held a crucial meeting with his senior Cabinet colleagues to firm up his government stand on the current situation, hours ahead of the visit of US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage.

Mr Vajpayee held consultations with Home Minister L.K. Advani, External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh and Defence Minister George Fernandes who flew in here from Bangalore in the evening to attend this meeting.

The Prime Minister’s Principal Secretary and National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra was also present at the meeting, well-placed sources said.

When Mr Armitage meets the Prime Minister here tomorrow in the evening, he is expected to brief Mr Vajpayee about the “concrete” steps taken by Pakistan in stopping cross-border infiltration and terrorism.

The India visit of Mr Armitage, who arrives tomorrow from Pakistan, and that of Defence Secretary Ronald Rumsfeld on Sunday, are extremely significant and much different from the high profile visits by Americans previously, the sources said.

This is evident from the fact that the Prime Minister decided to do away with diplomatic protocol and meet Mr Armitage, a privilege he normally reserves for top foreign dignitaries.

The sources said Mr Armitage is expected to come here armed with facts and figures on what concrete steps Islamabad has taken to redress Indian concerns and whether terrorist training camps in Pakistan-controlled territory have been closed down or not.

Unlike the previous high-profile American visits, Mr Armitage’s visit is significant because it would be perhaps for the first time when the USA is likely to insist on Pakistan for concrete evidence to show that terrorist training camps have been closed down and the Pakistani paraphernalia for launching proxy war against India has been effectively wrapped up.

Equally significant is the Indian position in this regard, the sources said. It is understood that New Delhi has already conveyed to Washington that it will be willing to go by Washington’s verification on the issues of cross-border infiltration and terrorism.

The sources said India would be sharing hard intelligence with Mr Armitage to prove its contention that there has been no let up in Pakistan’s proxy war activities. Another matter of concern, particularly for Washington, is the alarming movements of Al-Qaida and Taliban cadres within Pakistan and reports of some of them having already been pushed into India from the Pak-occupied Kashmir.

The USA is taking reports of the “floating” Al-Qaida cadres very seriously and values Indian intelligence in this regard.