The Hindu : Pak. prepared to sign anti-terrorism pact: Sattar

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Mar 10, 2002

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Pak. prepared to sign anti-terrorism pact: Sattar
By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, MARCH 9. The Pakistan Foreign Minister, Abdul Sattar, has said that in the context of India's allegations of infiltration and cross-border terrorism, Islamabad was ready to ink an agreement with New Delhi not to allow its territory to be used for hostile activities.

In an interview here with two Indian correspondents including that of The Hindu, Mr. Sattar said, ``we are prepared for an agreement that specifically says neither country would allow its soil to be used for terrorist activities against each other''.

Mr. Sattar said the Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf, made a similar offer at Kathmandu, venue of the SAARC Summit in early January this year, and it was for India to respond. The other way to deal with the problem was to agree on a ``mechanism for deployment of observers''.

In response to a specific question on why Pakistan was not willing to consider a proposal for unilateral pullout of its troops from the frontline positions on the border, Mr. Sattar said that if Islamabad did not take necessary precaution it would only increase the temptation for the other side.

At the same time, he said, Islamabad was willing to consider withdrawal of troops first if New Delhi was willing to follow suit. ``The details of such a withdrawal could be negotiated at the military level. The question of sending troops to their peacetime locations alternatively could be taken up''.

Pakistan was not the first to move its troops to the border. Unlike India, it had not deployed its forces in full strength on the borders in view of its commitment to the U.S.-led coalition on the western border facing Afghanistan.

Mr. Sattar, who served twice as Pakistan's Ambassador in New Delhi, recalled his experience in the Eighties when he was deputed by Islamabad to negotiate disengagement and withdrawal of forces on the border to defuse the tension. ``Where there is a will, there is a way. These things can be worked out''.

The tension between the two countries could not abate till the forces were withdrawn and both sides began the process of dialogue to resolve all the outstanding issues. The whole effort of dialogue at Agra was to lay the foundation for a structured dialogue and, lamented that unfortunately, there could be no agreement.

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