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Pak. not averse to joint patrolling

By Amit Baruah

KATHMANDU Aug. 22. While favouring neutral monitoring of the Line of Control, Pakistan is not averse to considering the Indian proposal of joint patrolling of the LoC if tensions come down and confidence is built between the two countries.

Addressing a largely Indian press corps, the Pakistani Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Inam-ul-Haq, went out of his way to call for the resumption of talks, saying that the two countries must build up an atmosphere of trust and confidence.

Pakistan, which had rejected the idea of joint patrolling when put forward by the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, at Almaty on June 5, saw more merit in the proposal today even as Mr. Haq said there was some confusion about the Indian suggestion.

``The Indian Prime Minister did propose that. The same day, we saw a statement from Mr. (George) Fernandes saying that there was no way a joint patrolling mechanism could be established... In a situation where more than a million men are staring at each other across the LoC, it is rather difficult to imagine a situation where they will have sufficient confidence in each other to start joint patrolling,'' he said.

``And, we don't really see why the LoC should not be monitored by a neutral mechanism because there has to be a climate of confidence between the two countries, a situation of normalcy before such proposals can be seriously addressed... Let us create a climate where the two countries are talking to each other. Such proposals can be examined once tensions go down and confidence is built in both countries...'' Mr. Haq said.

The measured, reasonable Mr. Haq answered all questions from the Indian press with due deliberation. At the back of his mind, he was probably aware that the United States Deputy Secretary of State, Richard Armitage, will arrive in New Delhi tomorrow and then go on to Islamabad.

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