National
Musharraf must act against terrorism: Russia
By Atul Aneja
NEW DELHI, JAN. 16. Russia wants Pakistan to effectively crack down on terrorist groups on its soil so that its border tensions with India can deescalate and a dialogue between the two neighbours resumed.
In an exclusive interview to The Hindu, Oleg Chernov, the visiting number two man in the Russian National Security Council, did not suggest an immediate deescalation of forces on the border. He said the Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf, must effectively act on his stated commitment against terrorism. Gen. Musharraf should first arrest ``leaders'' of the terrorist groups whose names were internationally well-known. They should then be tried and punished according to law. ``You cannot arrest them one day and release them the next day,'' Mr. Chernov added.
If Pakistan provided adequate ``proof'' that it had curbed terrorism satisfactorily, this should result in ``lesser tensions at the border with India'' and bring about ``first contacts'' between New Delhi and Islamabad.
During his two-day stay that concluded on Tuesday, Mr. Chernov held extensive discussions with the National Security Adviser, Mr. Brajesh Mishra, the chief of the Research and Analysis Wing, Mr. Vikram Sood, and the chief of Intelligence Bureau, Mr. K.P. Singh, apart from holding delegation-level talks. Mr. Chernov handed over a letter from Mr. Vladimir Rushailo, head, Russian National Security Council, to Mr. Mishra. Mr. Rushailo is expected to visit India in March.
According to Mr. Chernov, Russia fully understood India's disposition towards terrorism as it had long been a victim of the menace originating from Pakistan. The December 13 attack on Parliament, preceded by the assault on the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly along with the Kargil war, prominently illustrated the terrorist onslaught against India.
While it was India's ``sovereign right'' to concentrate its forces on the border, a war between India and Pakistan was avoidable. Mr. Chernov hoped India would not deviate from its focus on diplomacy, in case it was provoked by a terrorist attack in the coming days.
The remarks assume importance as Gen. Musharraf had reportedly raised the subject before the Bush administration ahead of his televised address on Saturday. But Mr. Chernov emphasised that ``maximum pressure'' should be imposed on the Pakistani leadership so that it took measures to curb terrorism, the root cause for the border tensions.
Mr. Chernov said a a permanent U.S. presence in Central Asia was unnecessary both from a political and economic point of view. According to reports, the United States was establishing an airbase in the Central Asian republic of Kyrghyzstan.
Uzbekistan had also moved closer to the U.S. Mr. Chernov's observations assume importance as Russian influence in Central Asia since the latter half of the nineteenth century has been dominant.
Mr. Chernov, however, pointed to the latest statements from the U.S. suggesting that its role in Central Asia was confined to fighting the war against terrorism. In the present fluid geopolitical situation, he hoped that the U.S. would not work against the national interest of Russia.
The visiting Russian official declined to elaborate on the possibility of a joint understanding among India, Russia and China to target specific concerns such as terrorism.
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