Wednesday, May 29, 2002
Wednesday, May 29, 2002 |
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By Hasan Suroor
But the Foreign Office welcomed Gen. Musharraf's "stated commitment'' in his television address on Monday night, that Islamabad would not allow its territory to be used for terrorist activity. "We also welcome Gen. Musharraf's assurance that no infiltration is taking place across the Line of Control,'' a spokesman told The Hindu even as independent commentators found the Pakistani leader's remarks "defiant'' and "bullish''. There was no immediate reaction to the Foreign Minister, Jaswant Singh's response to Gen. Musharraf's speech, though the British Government again emphasised the need for both sides to exercise restraint and said the Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, currently visiting the region, would call for de-escalation. In a subtle shift, Britain has begun to place the onus for the present crisis on Pakistan reflecting India's position that de-escalation is possible only when Islamabad stops supporting cross-border terrorism. In an interview to The Financial Times today, Gen. Musharraf repeated that there was "no activity'' on the Line of Control, but said he was considering unilaterally stepping up presence of United Nations observers on the Pakistani side of the LoC to "verify infiltration activities''. Rejecting India's charge of continuing cross-border terror attacks, he said New Delhi wanted to be "both accusers and judges''. He dismissed the list of 20 men whom India wants to be handed over to it for various alleged crimes. He said it was "ridiculous'' as it contained names of people who allegedly committed crimes in 1980s. "We can give India a list of names who committed crimes in 1947,'' he said.
Call for arms embargo
Meanwhile, the British Government was resisting pressure from its own MPs and peace activists to impose an arms embargo on India and Pakistan. "There are very few countries with nuclear capability and given the situation between Pakistan and India we should not be pouring petrol on a fire,'' Martin O'Neill, chairman of parliament's Trade and Industry Select Committee, said. Roger Berry, chairman of a group of committees on British arms exports, said the India-Pakistan standoff was "as clear a case as you could get'' for an arms embargo. There was widespread criticism of Britain's claim to pursue an "ethical'' foreign policy while continuing to supply arms to countries threatening to go to war. But Indian diplomatic sources expressed concern over the implications of a possible suspension of arms supplies at this crucial juncture and said India's concerns had been conveyed to Britain. The issue, they indicated, had been taken up at the highest level and it was under discussion. The Government has said that it would be guided by the European Union's "consolidated'' criteria which prohibit arms supplies in situations where there is a "clearly identifiable risk'' of a war. But as of now there is no arms embargo on the two countries. Critics accused the Government of allowing its commercial instincts as an arms exporter to outweigh the demands of "ethical'' diplomacy.
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