The Hindu : UAE President's call to defuse tension

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jun 11, 2002

International

International

UAE President's call to defuse tension

Dubai June 10. The UAE President, Sheikh Zayed today said India and Pakistan must make every possible effort to defuse tension through dialogue and peaceful means as President Pervez Musharraf briefed him on the current Indo-Pak situation.

``Every possible effort should be made to narrow differences between the two neighbours in order to achieve security and stability in the region'', Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al Nahyan told Gen. Musharraf during their meeting in the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi, according to official news agency WAM.

He said the two countries ``need to defuse tensions through dialogue and understanding in order to resolve their differences through peaceful means.''

Gen. Musharraf informed Sheikh Zayed of the ``developements in the situation between India and Pakistan and efforts deployed to counter the crisis,'' the agency said.

The Pakistan President is in Abu Dhabi on the first leg of his two-nation tour which will also take him to Saudi Arabia. On his arrival, Gen. Musharraf had said he would ``brief the UAE President about the measures that my Government has taken to counter and curb terrorism''.

In a statement, he also said the main purpose of his visit was to personally brief Sheikh Zayed on the heightened tensions on the border as well as the steps taken by Pakistan to avert a war.

The talks also covered current international issues, bilateral cooperation and the West Asian situation.

Before his departure, Gen. Musharraf said in Islamabad that military tensions will remain high as long as forces are deployed at the border and that he expected New Delhi to start a dialogue process on Kashmir in response to steps initiated by his Government to stop infiltration of militants. ``As long as the forces remain deployed and as long as there is a capability...of their forces on the borders to take action at short notice, the danger is not over,'' he told reporters.

UAE, which has a huge expatriate population from the sub-continent and substantial trade ties with the region, has expressed concern over the tensions.

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