The Hindu : 'Another way' needed to tackle proxy war: Advani

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, May 28, 2002

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'Another way' needed to tackle proxy war: Advani

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI MAY 27. The question is not whether India should go ahead and declare a war against Pakistan, but whether India should continue to respond to the war which is already there in the way it has been or find ``another way'' to deal with it.

The Union Home Minister, L.K. Advani, who was flagging off here today a group of young people on their way to Leh to participate in the annual Sindhu darshan festival starting on May 28, said that ``Pakistan had declared a war against India a long time ago'', that war was continuing, it had cost us more in human lives lost than a regular war which could not last more than a couple of weeks.

The question now was not whether India should declare a war and go to war, but how we should respond to the war through cross-border terrorism declared by Pakistan. And in his view the ``time has come to tackle it another way.''

It was a challenging and tough situation on the border, India had given enough time to Pakistan to demonstrate its willingness to tackle terrorism springing from its side of the border, Mr. Advani said, referring to the list of 20 terrorists-criminals wanted by India and whose extradition it had demanded.

Pakistan had not responded, it had not demonstrated that it was willing to do what it said it would, stop its soil from being used for terrorist activities against India.

Mr. Advani noted that the Prime Minister had already called for a ``decisive battle'' against cross-border terrorism, and he too felt that the time had come to respond to the situation not the way we have been responding, but ``another way''.

Although he did not spell out what the ``other way'' was, he left no doubt in anyone's mind that the ``other way'' was to inflict heavy punishment on Pakistan.

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