India exchanges notes with Russia

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, OCT. 8. India today took stock of the developments in Afghanistan and Pakistan following Sunday's attacks by the United States and exchanged notes with Russia on the unfolding situation in the region.

Asked to comment on the developments in Pakistan, the External Affairs Minister, Mr. Jaswant Singh, soon after an unscheduled meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security this evening, said India ``expected and hoped that law and order (in Pakistan) will be restored''.

Earlier, Mr. Singh spoke to his Russian counterpart Mr. Igor Ivanov, on the evolving situation in Afghanistan and its fallout. Later, the Russian President, Mr. Vladimir Putin, spoke to the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, over telephone.

Mr. Singh said India was in touch with the Northern Alliance. This alliance of Afghanistan's ethnic minorities would play a significant role now and in the future.

Russia, India and Iran were among the key supporters of the Northern Alliance which was positioning itself for a assault on the Taliban on the ground.

Briefing the media earlier, a representative of the Defence Ministry, Maj. Gen. Richard Khare, said the U.S. strikes on Taliban strongholds were likely to ``energise'' the Northern Alliance.

The CCS also discussed the internal security situation. Mr. Singh said all preparations were being made to ensure that U.S. attacks on Afghanistan did not generate any communal overtones in India. A meeting was also held in the Home Ministry to discuss the same subject.

In a related development, the U.S. Ambassador to India, Mr. Robert Blackwill, met the Union Home Minister, Mr. L.K. Advani, and briefed him on U.S. attacks.

The Defence Ministry acknowledged that its forces had been placed on a high state of preparedness, while naval forces, especially those belonging to the western fleet, had been deployed in the Arabian Sea.

`We can fight our battles'

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, OCT. 8. India today described the attacks by the U.S.- led coalition on Afghanistan as pinpointed at the Al-Qaeda terrorist training camps run by the Taliban.

``As expected, the targeting has been selective, minimising the impact of the operation on the civil population,'' a statement by the Ministry of External Affairs said. The Ministry expressed its appreciation that these strikes did not target Afghanistan's civilian population and humanitarian assistance for the people was part of the operational plan. India was working out the nitty-gritty of sending humanitarian relief to Afghanistan on its own.

India was looking for a new government in Afghanistan where the Taliban was replaced by a new arrangement in which all the elements of the Afghan society were represented democratically.

The Government made two additional points in the backdrop of the ongoing operations launched by the U.S. last night. First, it sought to dispel the view that India was seeking U.S. assistance to resolve its problems of terrorism. New Delhi was fully capable of tackling cross-border terrorism on its own. ``We have never asked anybody to pull out our chestnuts from the fire,'' a MEA spokesman said.

But India had galvanised its diplomatic efforts to sensitise the world about its concerns on terrorism.

Second, terrorist activity in Kashmir, after a brief lull soon after U.S. attacks, continued to rage. There was no let-up either in infiltrations, mine blasts and standoff attacks.

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