'We won't add to Pak.'s woes'

By Atul Aneja

NEW DELHI, SEPT. 22. India today said it was not interested in adding to Pakistan's current difficulties and stepped up its efforts to reach out to the world leaders.

Replying to Pakistan's Foreign Minister, Mr. Abdul Sattar, over telephone, the External Affairs Minister, Mr. Jaswant Singh, said, ``India had no intention to add to the complexities that the Government and people of Pakistan were faced with.'' He ``asked'' Mr. Sattar to convey his observations to the Pakistan President, General Pervez Musharraf.

Incidentally, Government sources here pointed out that Mr. Singh's reassurances come at a time when Pakistan had shifted two brigades of its key 16 Division away from Umarkot-Panaoqil sectors, facing parts of the Gujarat and Rajasthan border with India.

Vajpayee speaks to Chirac

During the day, the Prime Minister Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, spoke to the French President, Mr. Jacques Chirac.

Both leaders agreed that the tragedy in the U.S. underscored the need for a unified international response against terrorism. The European Union, Mr. Chirac said, has advocated an important role for the United Nations in the fight against global terrorism. The two leaders stressed the need for separating terrorism from religion.

Diversifying its international contacts further, the External Affairs Minister today spoke to his Israeli counterpart, Mr. Shimon Peres, and hoped that the cessation of hostilities between Israelis and Palestinians would help revive the West Asian peace process. Mr. Peres said he was visiting India shortly.

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