The Hindu : Front Page : Relocate troops to ‘peace-time’ positions: Pakistan

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Wednesday, Dec 31, 2008
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Relocate troops to ‘peace-time’ positions: Pakistan

Nirupama Subramanian

We have been asked to undo what we have not done, say Indian embassy officials

ISLAMABAD: Buoyed by the entry of traditional ally China in the role of the peacemaker in the region and feeling “vindicated” by the toned down Indian statements, Pakistan proposed on Tuesday that New Delhi should send it “positive signals” by deactivating its forward air bases and relocating troops to “peace time” positions.

Indian officials here said India could take neither step as it was being asked “to undo what we have not done.” The Indian Defence Ministry said last week that the troop movements in the Rajasthan and Punjab sectors were linked to annual winter exercises and did not indicate mobilisation on the border with Pakistan. Defence officials have also denied that forward bases were ever “activated” in the present crisis.

Pakistan’s proposals were set out by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in a “policy statement” that he delivered in Urdu on the state-run Pakistan Television. The statement followed a visit by the Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister He Yafei, sent here by his government as a special envoy to try and defuse the military tensions in the region following the Mumbai attacks.

Mr. He’s visit yielded statements from Pakistan’s civilian and military leaders calling for peace and a resumption of dialogue with India, which along with the toning of the rhetoric in India, have helped significantly to de-escalate the build-up of military tensions.

The Chinese envoy supported Pakistan’s “constructive” approach to the post-Mumbai fallout in the region and endorsed its proposals for a joint investigation into Mumbai and for a “high-level” team of Pakistani officials to visit India in this connection.

It is unclear if Mr. He pressed Pakistan to take action against the perpetrators of the Mumbai carnage as other international leaders visiting Pakistan did. But for the first time in the weeks after the terror attacks, the Pakistani government did not appear pushed by a high-ranking foreign visitor.

Praise for China

A big chunk of Mr. Qureshi’s statement was devoted to praising China’s role and thanking its Foreign Minister “for remaining in constant telephonic touch, be it with the U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice or Pranab Mukherjee, and for giving a message of peace and restraint.”

Mr. Qureshi said: “China has proven once again that it is a never-declining friend of Pakistan.”

The Foreign Minister said “an atmosphere would be created for taking the matters forward” along with reduction of tensions if India accepted Pakistan’s two proposals.

“Number one: The forward air bases, which are presently active, should be deactivated for giving Pakistan a positive signal. Number two: The armed forces should be returned to their peace-time positions, which would also give a positive signal,” he said. Underlining the importance of dialogue and the need to keep diplomatic channels open, Mr. Qureshi reiterated Pakistan’s offer of cooperation with India.

“Positive development”

Describing as a “positive development” Mr. Mukherjee’s remarks that India had given no ultimatum to Islamabad and would share evidence of the Mumbai attacks with it when the investigation had been completed, Mr. Qureshi said Pakistan’s stand that “neighbouring countries cannot resolve their problems through ultimatums” but only “through dialogue in a conducive atmosphere” had been vindicated.

He also described the direct contact between the Directors-General Military Operations of the two countries as a “second positive development” of the last 48 hours.

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