Stop anti-Pak. rhetoric, Musharraf tells India

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, OCT. 22 The Pakistan President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, tonight warned Indian leaders against what he termed as `anti- Pakistan rhetoric' and said Islamabad would pay New Delhi in the same coin if it were to indulge in any misadventure across the border.

In a special interview with a panel of three senior Pakistani journalists on the state-run Pakistan Television (PTV), Gen. Musharraf expressed the hope that the U.S. military campaign in Afghanistan would end before the commencement of the holy month of Ramadan in the second/third week of November. He said the continuation of the campaign during Ramadan would have a negative impact on the Muslim world.

He spared no punches in hitting out at the Indian leaders and particularly referred to the statements of the Home Minister, Mr. L.K. Advani, and the Defence Minister, Mr. George Fernandes, and warned that such `rhetoric' would only harm bilateral ties.

``Dialogue for the resolution of all differences, including Kashmir, is the only way out,'' he asserted and claimed that the whole world, including the U.S., had recognised Kashmir as the central issue between India and Pakistan.

``We are aware of the movement of Indian troops and the Western Air Command on our borders. Let India not be under any illusion. We would teach India a lesson if it attempted any mischief,'' Gen. Musharraf said.

He said by aligning with the international community in its fight against terrorism, Pakistan had succeeded in not only isolating India but also defeating its designs. ``Our strategy was to ensure that international coalition does not join with India against us and we have succeeded.''

Answering a question, Gen. Musharraf said Pakistan did not expect any help from the international coalition in the event of a conflict with India. He argued that Pakistan was capable of defending itself.

It was for the second time since the September 11 attacks that Gen. Musharraf has chosen to target India. In his address to the people of Pakistan on September 19, he had accused New Delhi of hatching a conspiracy to get Pakistan declared as a terrorist state and said perseverance of strategic interests of Pakistan was one of the main considerations in his decision to side with the U.S.

The strong language employed by Gen. Musharraf and an equally strong statement against Pakistan by the Prime Minister, Mr. A.B. Vajpayee, in Lucknow earlier in the day leaves little scope for a meeting between the two on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly beginning on November 10. Two days ago the Pakistan Foreign Minister, Mr. Abdul Sattar, had said that Islamabad looked forward to an opportunity for a meeting between the two leaders at New York.

Another interesting point made by Gen. Musharraf in the course of the 45-minute interview related to Afghan policy of Pakistan. He defended the decision of his Government to side with the U.S. against the Taliban on the plea that the so-called strategic depth provided by Afghanistan was meaningless after India and Pakistan have gone nuclear.

Gen. Musharraf's remarks about military campaign is the first indication that Pakistan is getting restive over the `open ended' nature of military campaign by the U.S. and its allies in Afghanistan.

``So one would hope and wish that this campaign comes to an end before the month of Ramadan, and one would hope for restraint during the month of Ramadan because this would certainly have some negative effects in the Muslim world,'' he said.

In effect, Gen. Musharraf is counseling the U.S. to finish the goals it has set before itself - getting Osama and his associates and replacement of Taliban regime with a broad-based set up in Kabul - before the beginning of the Ramadan period in the second/third week of November.

It is indeed a tall order for Washington, considering the fact that so far it has made not much headway in either dismantling or engineering defections in the Taliban militia. Far from achieving any tangible results, the military campaign has attracted widespread criticism for alleged high rate of civilian causalities.

Even before the U.S. got into the phase of military campaign against the Taliban militia, Islamabad has been stressing the need for a `short, swift and targeted' campaign to ensure that there are no civilian causalities.

Gen. Musharraf's appeal to the U.S. to wind up the military campaign as quickly as possible came after reports of similar appeals by Russia and China.

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