International
Straw asks Pak. to talk to India
By Hasan Suroor
LONDON, JAN. 1. The British Foreign Secretary, Mr. Jack Straw, has urged Pakistan to have talks with India to defuse the tension in the region, and avoid a conflict.
He spoke to the Pakistan Foreign Minister, Mr. Abdul Sattar, on Monday and while welcoming the arrest of the hardline Lashkar-e-Taiba leader, Prof. Hafiz Mohammed Saeed, and a number of other suspects in connection with the terrorist attack on Indian Parliament on December 13, Mr. Straw told him that more steps needed to be done to improve the climate in the region.
``The Foreign Secretary told Mr. Sattar that he welcomed the steps Pakistan had taken to clamp down on militant groups. He encouraged them to do more and to enter into a dialogue with India,'' the BBC said, quoting a Foreign Office spokesman.
Observers here were encouraged by signs of a thaw in India-Pakistan relations following the arrest of Prof. Saeed. Mr. Jaswant Singh's remarks that it was a ``step forward'' and the conciliatory reaction from Islamabad were seen as an indication of a softening of positions on both sides. They attributed this largely to the pressure from Washington and London on both countries to exercise restraint.
The arrest of Prof. Saeed was seen to be a direct result of the pressure on Islamabad to crack down on groups and individuals whom New Delhi accuses of being behind the December 13 attack.
In recent days, Britain and the U.S. have been engaged in a tightrope balancing act - acknowledging India's concerns, praising the Pakistan President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, for his ``statesmanship'' in the campaign against terrorism but at the same time nudging him to do more to mollify New Delhi. Commentators here have noted that a war in the region at this juncture could jeopardise Washington's own military aims which depend crucially on Pakistan's support; and hence the American anxiety to make sure that Islamabad is not distracted.
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