The Hindu : India holds Musharraf to his pledge

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jun 25, 2002

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India holds Musharraf to his pledge

By C. Raja Mohan

NEW DELHI JUNE 24. Holding the Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf, to his pledge on permanently ending cross-border infiltration across the Line of Control, New Delhi today cautioned Islamabad that walking back from that commitment could endanger peace and security in the subcontinent.

Reacting sharply to Gen. Musharraf's remarks in the latest issue of the Newsweek that there was no such pledge, the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, Nirupama Rao, said "despite some occasional verbal callisthenics by Pakistan, this is the commitment that remains undiluted.''

"Pledges are pledges. Nations have to abide by them,'' Ms. Rao said. "These are commitments on which Pakistan must deliver if we are to see lasting peace and stability in our region and if we are to see reduction in tensions.''

Informed sources here say that Gen. Musharraf's remarks have vitiated the positive atmosphere that was being created for a de-escalation of the six-month long military confrontation between India and Pakistan. India, they said, was considering additional diplomatic and military steps to ease the standoff with Pakistan. But Gen. Musharraf's comments have complicated the Indian political calculus by raising fresh doubts about his intentions.

"It has been conveyed to us in categorical terms that commitments about permanently ending infiltration of terrorists across the Line of Control have repeatedly been given by Gen. Musharraf,'' Ms. Rao declared. She was referring to the visits earlier this month by senior U.S. officials who had communicated to New Delhi the pledges from Gen. Musharraf to permanently end cross-border infiltration and begin the dismantling of terrorist camps on the Pakistani soil.

Confirming Pakistan's commitments, a spokesman of the U.S. Embassy here told the agencies that the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, Richard Armitage, "was given assurances by President Musharraf on June 6 that ending of infiltration across the Line of Control would be permanent.''

Asked if India would reconsider its readiness to ease tensions if Gen. Musharraf backtracked on his commitments, Ms. Rao said "if Pakistan is unable to fulfil its pledges and is reneging on its commitments, we will have to take a closer look on what needs to be done and where we go from here.''

If Gen. Musharraf fails to deliver on a permanent end to infiltration, just as he walked back from his historic speech denouncing terrorism on January 12, the political credibility of the Anglo-American powers, which brokered the peace process, would be severely undermined, sources here say.

For now, the Government has chosen not to press the panic button and is willing to exercise restraint. This message appears to have been conveyed to the British Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, who talked over the phone to the External Affairs Minister, Jaswant Singh, today.

The call, which was arranged sometime ago, gave an opportunity for India and Britain to discuss the latest turn of events in the subcontinent. The British Government is expected to seek clarifications from Gen. Musharraf about his pledges on cross-border infiltration. The U.S. is also likely to take up the issue with Pakistan.

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