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India conveys concern about Pak. role to U.S.

By Amit Baruah

The U.S. Secretary of State, Colin Powell, with the External Affairs Minister, Yashwant Sinha, before their meeting at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Saturday. — Photo: V. Sudershan

NEW DELHI JULY 27. India said today that its "very legitimate'' concerns about Pakistan and its role in fomenting terrorism had been conveyed to the visiting United States Secretary of State, Colin Powell, during talks this evening.

Gen. Powell, who held discussions with the External Affairs Minister, Yashwant Sinha, was able to get a first-hand assessment of where India stands on these issues, the Foreign Office spokesperson, Nirupama Rao, told presspersons late tonight. As India politely informed Gen. Powell about its concerns on terrorism, the U.S. official was quoted as telling presspersons on board his aircraft that levels of infiltration across the Line of Control (LoC) were hard to measure with any level of precision.

In his remarks, Gen. Powell made it clear that the U.S. was concerned that tensions between India and Pakistan, which had subsided somewhat, could rise again and, hence, the need for continuous engagement with both sides.

New Delhi insisted that conditions for a dialogue with Pakistan had not been created and since its troops were on the ground, India was in a better position to speak on the issue of infiltration across the LoC.

Describing the meeting between the two Ministers as very constructive, the spokesperson said it was emphasised by Gen. Powell that the U.S. does not see its relationship with India within the framework of India-Pakistan relations.

``He was appreciative of our holding free and fair elections in Jammu and Kashmir and emphasised that these elections should take place without interruption or violence... There was understanding and convergence of views between the two sides on the need to fight terrorism in a global manner,'' she said.``Our concerns about the lack of action by Pakistan to fulfil the pledges made by President General (Pervez) Musharraf to (U.S.) Deputy Secretary (Richard) Armitage was stressed. Our Minister referred to the fact that Pakistan's private commitments were entirely contradicted by its public pronouncements''

India referred to the fact that violence in Jammu and Kashmir had only come down marginally and Pakistan's actions were violative of the U.N. Security Council resolution 1373.

``Clearly, it was our view that Pakistan had to do more if tensions in the region were to be reduced and the possibilities of resumption of dialogue were to be realised."

She said the U.S. was used to its friends (a reference to Pakistan) honouring their pledges (on ending cross-border terrorism). Asked if the all-crucial issue of verification across the LoC came up in the discussions this evening, she replied in the negative.

India and the U.S. also discussed the need to deepen the bilateral dialogue on regional issues and intensify high-level consultations. The strategic dialogue between the two nations needed to be deepened further. Military-to-military cooperation had also developed well in recent months, she added.

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