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Response after Pak. acts on list: Jaswant
By Atul Aneja
The U.S. Secretary of State, Colin Powell, with the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, in New Delhi on Friday. -- Reuters
NEW DELHI, JAN. 18. Without committing itself to a dialogue, India today indicated that it could look afresh at the diplomatic and political measures it had adopted against Pakistan after the terrorist attack on Parliament, provided Islamabad took action against those named in the list of 20 sent to it earlier.
``If there is action with regard to the list of 20 wanted terrorists and criminals, then I am very hopeful that there would be a distinct move to a situation that would be similar to what existed before the 13th of December'', the External Affairs Minister, Jaswant Singh, said at a joint press conference with the visiting U.S. Secretary of State, Colin Powell.
In a related development, India handed over additional evidence against terrorists and criminals named in the list and who, it believes, have taken refuge in Pakistan. This additional information was given to Pakistan's Deputy High Commissioner, Jaleel Abbas Jilani, by Arun K. Singh, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs.
Mr. Jaswant Singh said Pakistan was well aware of the whereabouts of the 14 Indian nationals who were on this list.
Distancing India from the possibility of a war, he said that New Delhi was looking for a diplomatic solution to the crisis engulfing the two neighbours. The ``central thought'' in the mind of the Indian leadership was the ``restoration of confidence'' between India and Pakistan. Once that was achieved, ``everything would fall into place.''
India had recalled its High Commissioner from Pakistan, slashed the staff in its diplomatic mission in Islamabad by half and denied Pakistan planes access to its airspace following the December 13 attack on Parliament. Simultaneously, it had mobilised its forces towards the India-Pakistan border.
Government sources clarified that New Delhi could sequentially roll back some of the diplomatic and political steps it had adopted after December 13, provided Islamabad met its expectations on three counts.
First, Pakistan should act on the list that it had been provided. Gen. Powell indicated at the press conference that it would be easier for Pakistan to take action against the 14 Indian nationals on the list. According to Mr. Singh, the Pakistani police may not find it too difficult to pick up the 14 persons. ``It is not as if they are hiding in some caves in Karachi'', he said. Gen. Powell, the sources said, was keen to see Pakistani action against individuals on the terrorist list. At the press conference, he urged the Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf, to take ``further action'' against them.
Second, the infiltration of terrorists into Jammu and Kashmir from Pakistan, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) as well as the Northern Areas needed to be restrained. During talks, it was pointed out to Gen. Powell that radio intercepts monitored by India as well as those independently obtained by the U.S. had made it clear that the level of infiltration into Jammu and Kashmir was yet to drop. India, as a matter of policy, was currently sharing the tapes with key countries including the U.S., France and Russia, the sources added.
Third, India was awaiting a visible downturn in externally-aided violence in Jammu and Kashmir.
Sources pointed out that the revival of an Indo-Pak. dialogue and pullback of forces by India was still far away. India would be ready to de-escalate its troop presence once the Pakistani crackdown becomes irreversible, they said. The Army had also stated that it was logistically difficult to mobilise as well as pull back forces at short notice.
India, however, indicated to Gen. Powell its readiness to prioritise discussions on Jammu and Kashmir as part of its ``composite dialogue'' format later, in case Pakistan effectively cracked down on terrorism that sprang from its territory.
Gen. Powell, on his part, acquainted the Indian side about his discussions in Islamabad. Gen. Musharraf, according to sources, conveyed to the U.S. delegation that restoration of democracy in Pakistan could not precede the establishment of public order there.
Gen. Musharraf also conveyed his response to India's military mobilisation. The Pakistani leader said his country would robustly counter any military action by India.
On the list of 20, the Pakistani side said it was looking for concrete evidence about the involvement of the individuals in terrorist and criminal activity. It was in response to this demand that New Delhi agreed to provide additional information at U.S. request.
Sensing the possibility of a gradual reduction in Indo-Pak. tensions, Gen. Powell said, ``we exchanged a number of ideas on how we can move forward and I leave here very encouraged that we can find a solution to this troubling situation.''
Gen. Powell, even before his arrival here, said the purpose of his visit to the subcontinent was to arrest the downturn in Indo-Pak. relations.
Dialogue can't be Kashmir-centric: Powell
By Our Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI, JAN. 18. The visiting U.S. Secretary of State, Colin Powell, today asserted that a dialogue between India and Pakistan ``could not be Kashmir-centric.''
Gen. Powell made the observation during an interview with New Delhi Television. During the conversation, he said the Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf's words will have to be matched by action, but believed that steps had been taken by the General that could lead to de-escalation of tension between India and Pakistan.
Gen. Powell hinted that Pakistan might be acting to curb infiltration of terrorists across the Line of Control, but said it was up to India to make the final assessment. He agreed with India that ``action is the watch word'' to judge the intentions of Gen. Musharraf. He, however, added that ``we have detected actions that bring value'' to Gen. Musharraf's words.
He referred to ``instructions being given, orders being given which indicate that the level of activity over the Line of Control'' might be coming down. Asked specifically if he was suggesting that Pakistan was curbing infiltration, Gen. Powell answered in the affirmative. But he insisted that ``what is more important is that the Indian side make a decision for itself. I will wait and see what my Indian colleagues have decided''.
Sounding optimistic about the prospects of an Indo-Pak. dialogue in the near future, Gen. Powell said, ``if we can see actions across the Line of Control, if we can see terrorist camps being shut down for real and not re-emerging and if we can see action on the list of 20 _ then I think conditions are in place for the beginning of a dialogue''.
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