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By C. Raja Mohan
The U.S. Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, with the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, in New Delhi on Wednesday.
After an intensive round of consultations with the top layer of the political establishment, the visiting U.S. Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, praised the steps taken by India as "useful'' and "constructive'' and explored the prospects for additional actions by India. Coming out of a 75-minute meeting with the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, Mr. Rumsfeld told reporters that America "recognises the leadership demonstrated'' by Mr. Vajpayee "in a period that has been tense.'' At the heart of the discussion between Mr. Rumsfeld and the Government were the timing and sequence of the next steps to ease the military standoff in the subcontinent and their linkage to the actions in Islamabad. These measures were discussed in some detail by Mr. Rumsfeld and the Defence Minister, George Fernandes. The two leaders had more than an hour of one-on-one talks before they were joined by their aides. Mr. Fernandes said some "understandings'' had been arrived at between India and the United States which could lead to the creation of a "better atmosphere in the subcontinent.'' He refused to go into the "specifics'' of the understandings with Mr. Rumsfeld, who is expected to carry them to Pakistan. According to the U.S. Secretary of State, Colin Powell, Islamabad had communicated to Washington new commitments over the weekend that an end to infiltration across the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir would be permanent and that it "would be followed by other activities that had to do with the dismantling of the (training) camps.'' If Pakistan does indeed implement these promises, India might agree to resume direct air and ground transportation links between the two countries and withdraw some Air Force units from forward locations. The U.S. is said to be keen on some Indian steps in relation to the ground forces, which New Delhi had massed on its western frontiers since December 13 in its biggest military mobilisation since Independence. So is Pakistan. India apparently made it clear to Mr. Rumsfeld that there was no question of demobilising its troops on the LoC until the elections in Jammu and Kashmir are held later this year. But it is believed to have indicated a little more flexibility on the posture of its ground forces on the International Border with Pakistan in Rajasthan and Punjab. New Delhi might be willing to pull back its strike forces from the IB if there is a visible movement in Pakistan towards dismantling the infrastructure of terrorism on its soil. The Indian side has underlined the fact that it has no desire to perpetuate the military confrontation with Pakistan, if there is a genuine progress across the border to dismantle the infrastructure of terrorism, according to well-placed sources. At the same time, it insists that its steps can only follow, and not precede, additional actions from Islamabad to wind down the terrorist camps, squeeze their finances and cut their communication links. The Indian leaders also conveyed to Mr. Rumsfeld that the crucial test of a change in Pakistan's sponsorship of terrorism rests in Gen. Musharraf's willingness to let the elections in Jammu and Kashmir go off peacefully. And if Gen. Musharraf passes this test, India might be prepared to resume a substantive political dialogue with Pakistan after the elections, official sources say.
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