Wednesday, Jun 18, 2003
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By Hasan Suroor
Gen. Musharraf, who met the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, barely 24 hours after Mr. Advani's talks with the British leader, accused India of unnecessarily "harping" on cross-border terrorism and claimed that the Line of Control (LoC) was quiet. "Nothing is happening on the LoC. The Indians are harping on it, (so) it is my word against them," he said after meeting Mr. Blair adding "what is happening is indigenous". Mr. Advani reacted sharply, insisting that infiltration was on and that there had been no decline in cross-border terrorism. "I say it on the basis of facts which I can provide," he told reporters asked to comment on Gen. Musharraf's remarks. Mr. Advani said there had been three cases of infiltration in the past 10 days alone, and, in fact, infiltrators had been killed on the LoC. He wondered if Gen. Musharraf had any facts to back his claim that nothing was happening. He accused Pakistan of running a "covert" war and said that while India was willing for a dialogue to settle all outstanding issues, including Jammu and Kashmir, peace should not be held "hostage"' and all violence should stop. He said this was what he had told Gen. Musharraf on the eve of the Agra summit as well. Reacting to Gen. Musharraf 's reported remarks which were construed by India as a threat of "another Kargil", Mr. Advani said he had been surprised by the Pakistani leader's reported comments, but now that he had denied it claiming that he had been "misquoted" it was better to end the controversy. "I think the matter should end here." Gen. Musharraf, speaking to journalists, did not say if Indian concerns over cross-border terror were conveyed to him by the British Prime Minister, but said that India-Pakistan relations were discussed. He said Pakistan's stand on Kashmir, which he apparently impressed on Mr. Blair, was "very clear". A solution to the Kashmir issue would "depend on India, Pakistan and the people of Kashmir". The process of dialogue with India should be a "wholesome one", though he did not indicate what he meant. Mr. Advani, who wound up his three-day visit to the U.K. today after meeting the Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, maintained that Pakistan should fulfil its "commitment" on ending cross-border terror and dismantling the "terrorist infrastructure".
He emphasised the need for a dialogue, saying that it was only through talks that a compromise on extreme positions was possible. On Kashmir, he said, there was a wide gulf between Indian and Pakistani positions and that it could be bridged only when talks were held. Meanwhile, contrary to the Indian officials' claim on Monday that the issue of sending Indian troops to Iraq was not raised in his talks with Mr Blair, Mr. Advani disclosed today that it was raised. "The question of India's participation in a stabilisation force in Iraq was also briefly discussed. I expressed to Prime Minister Blair that India had desired certain clarifications in this regard. A decision would be taken after the clarifications sought by India were settled."
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