The Hindu : 'Pak. pledge on ultras averted war'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jun 18, 2002

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'Pak. pledge on ultras averted war'

NEW DELHI JUNE 17. The Prime Minister, A.B. Vajpayee, said war with Pakistan was averted only because Islamabad guaranteed that it would crack down on Pakistan-based Islamic militants crossing into India-controlled Kashmir, a newspaper reported.

In an interview to Dainik Jagran one of India's largest language papers, Mr. Vajpayee cited international pressure placed on Pakistan to meet India's demand that it bring an end to the cross-border infiltration into the disputed territory.

But, in his first detailed comments on the crisis, he played down the effect of such international pressure on India, saying that U.S. pressure on India was not enough to make India rule out going to war over its demands. ``The belief that India gave up the option of war under American pressure is totally wrong,'' Mr. Vajpayee told the Hindi-language newspaper. ``If Pakistan had not agreed to end infiltration, and America had not conveyed that guarantee to India, then war would not have been averted.''

Asked if Mr. Vajpayee had been quoted correctly, a senior aide to the Prime Minister declined to comment.

``India's victory without war has its own significance,'' Mr. Vajpayee was quoted as saying. ``Not just America, but other nations, mainly Britain, Russia and France, put intense pressure on Pakistan that cross-border terrorism must end and Pakistan must follow the path of peace.'' — AP

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