The Hindu : 'War the last option, but India is ready'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, May 25, 2002

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'War the last option, but India is ready'

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

Washington may 24. War is the ``last option'' but India is ready for it; ``we are preparing our forces, because you cannot continue to have violence on one side. This bleeding goes on. We have to act,'' says the Indian Defence Secretary, Yogendra Narain.

The Defence Secretary, who has been here in the last few days in conjunction with the meeting of the Defence Policy Group, met senior Bush administration officials, including the Secretary of Defence, Donald Rumsfeld, the Deputy Secretary of State, Richard Armitage, and the Deputy National Security Adviser, Steven Hadley.

Mr. Narain is said to have extensively briefed officials here on the situation in the sub-continent with substantial focus on cross-border terrorism and its implications. India is said to have urged the U.S. to act speedily.

``They (meaning the U.S.) promised to take initiatives and steps to persuade Pakistan to stop this cross-border terrorism. They have condemned this terrorism indulged in by Pakistan,'' he said. ``...we feel that President Musharraf never lived up to his January 12 speech promises. So on our side the preparations are on and we are determined to see that, if necessary, we might have to take this last recourse if Pakistan does not see reason and agree in some tangible measure to avoid recurrence of this cross-border terrorism and consequences.''

The Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, has sent a letter to the U.S. President, George W. Bush, outlining India's perspective on the current stand-off with Pakistan.

Mr. Vajpayee is said to have expressed serious concern and has stressed that the country's patience is running out as the Pakistani leader has failed to deliver on his promises.

Mr. Narain said, ``the U.S. has expressed concern and we have told them that our patience has almost come to an end. What Musharraf promised in his January 12 speech, he has not lived up to. We also felt that the U.S. has not done enough to control or advise Pakistan on this issue.'' He did not carry the Prime Minister's letter.

Mr. Narain and his senior-level delegation attending the bilateral defence talks were upbeat on the current stage and the evolving defence closeness between the U.S. and India. It is being stressed that the growing and evolving relationship between the two countries has a context that is much beyond South Asia. For instance, Washington has expressed readiness to consider India's request to extend joint exercises in the Straits of Hormuz.

Significantly, in the realm of counter-terrorism, the U.S. has agreed to provide equipment for India's Special Forces that would include unmanned aerial surveillance vehicles, night vision facilities, ground sensors, hand-held thermal imaging and personnel protection equipment currently in use by U. S. Special Forces.

``The two sides agreed that in the coming weeks their representatives would address counter-terrorism equipment requirements for India's special operations forces,'' the joint statement issued at the end of the three-day Defence Policy Group meeting said.

The two delegations have also approved a range of activities proposed by the sub-groups that would include specialised training programmes and joint exercises by the armed services of the two countries and the need to work closely for speedier approvals of export licences in the U.S.

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