International

Check terrorism across LoC: U.S. tells Pak.

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

Washington May 30. The Bush administration has reminded Pakistan that it had a "robust" military force and the ability to take steps to check terrorists from crossing the Line of Control (LoC).

"Pakistan has a robust military force and the ability internally to take action to prevent terrorists from crossing through the LoC. And it is important to take the steps necessary to prevent terrorists or would-be terrorists from crossing the line and engaging in terrorist or hostile acts," the White House Spokesman, Ari Fleischer, remarked in the course of a briefing on Thursday.

He said that the Secretary of Defence, Donald Rumsfeld, who was being sent to South Asia early next week by the President, George Bush, would be bringing with him "logic and diplomacy".

"To be direct, the Secretary will be bringing with him logic and diplomacy. Often at times like this, nations find themselves in paths that spiral in the wrong direction as a result of the desire to have peace, but events sometimes take a momentum of their own," Mr. Fleischer remarked.

Asked if Mr. Rumsfeld's mission was another "fire-fighting" exercise or a comprehensive effort to go after the underlying reasons, he argued that while the immediate attention was to reduce tension, many ideas were going to be looked at.

"The immediate priority is to reduce the tension. There is no question about that given the way the situation has built itself up. What is very important now is for the world to join together and bring it back down again. And that's under way..."

"There will be a series of efforts by numerous diplomats, American and foreign, who will be going to the region. And I think it's fair to say that many ideas are going to be looked at."

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