The Hindu : India set for military exercises

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Feb 19, 2002

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India set for military exercises
By Atul Aneja

NEW DELHI, FEB. 18. The Indian Air Force has begun a new round of exercises that is likely to be followed by fresh Army manoeuvres.

This calibrated activism by the armed forces in the coming days is likely to counter media assertions by the Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf, in Washington that India might encourage de-escalation following elections in some States.

Highly-placed sources here say that while India continues to insist on Pakistani action on the list of 20 extremists that it has sent, the reduction of cross-border infiltration still remains its prime objective.

In fact, India, according to the sources, will continue to monitor infiltration in Jammu and Kashmir for four months.

Gen. Musharraf understands India's core concern on curbing infiltration and that, in turn, explains his comments at the press conference that discussions on the list of 20 could begin after resumption of talks.

Aware that India's key demand was on curbing infiltration, the United States had indicated last month that the presentation of the list of 20 by New Delhi to Islamabad might have been superfluous. In fact, the U.S. Secretary of State, Colin Powell, shared this view with the leadership here when he came here in January.

Gen. Powell's perceptions, the sources say, were reinforced by Pakistan's decision then to disband around 30 junior-level officers within the Inter services Intelligence (ISI) - a step that could help reduce infiltration. Gen. Powell, in fact, had to be reminded by India that while Pakistan might have taken some action, its crackdown could not be taken at its face value. Specifically, the External Affairs Minister, Jaswant Singh, had brought to Gen. Powell's notice that contrary to Pakistan's view, the authorities in Islamabad had not arrested the chief of the banned Jaish-e-Mohammad, Masood Azhar, but had, instead, detained his brother. Gen. Powell endorsed India's view after promptly cross-checking this information with ``his sources''.

While the presentation of the list of 20 is one element but not the most important of India's coercive diplomacy, the possible links that are being brought out by the Pakistani media between the hijackers of the Indian Airlines plane in 1999 and kidnappers of the American journalist, Daniel Pearl, may now give this demand a greater salience. In case the hijackers, some of whom are part of the list of 20 fugitives, are involved in Mr. Pearl's abduction, it can help establish that India and the U.S. are both victims of a common Pakistani-based terror network that has to be addressed under the U.N. security Council resolution 1373. The resolution passed after the September 11 attacks calls upon all countries to root out terrorism from their soil.

`Yet to receive response on list'

PTI reports:

India today said it was yet to receive a ``satisfactory'' response from Pakistan on its demand for handing over of 20 terrorists and criminals based in that country.

This was stated by an External Affairs Ministry spokesperson when her comments were sought on the statement of the Pakistan President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, in the U.S. last week.

``We still await action from Pakistan. We haven't received a satisfactory response so far''.

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