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Pak. to withdraw troops to peacetime locations

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD Oct. 17. Following New Delhi's decision on Wednesday to pull back its troops from the International Border, Islamabad today announced the withdrawal of its forces from the Pakistan-India border to their peacetime locations, and said the process would commence shortly.

It urged India to begin a dialogue for resolution of all differences, including Kashmir.

The Musharraf Government's response came after consultations on the pros and cons of the Indian move at the highest level, and there were indications of an extensive debate within the military top brass on how exactly the Government should formulate its reaction.

It was around 2.30 p.m. (IST) that the Musharraf regime took the view that the Indian decision to pull back its troops from the IB was a ``step in the right direction'' and that a ``positive and timely'' response could be expected from Islamabad.

A little later, the Pakistan Foreign Office came out with another statement announcing the country's decision to recall the troops on the IB to their peacetime locations. The decision had been taken at a high-power meeting chaired by the Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf, it said.

It was not clear if the reference was to the Special Corps Commanders meet convened by Gen. Musharraf at short notice to take stock of the situation arising out of the Indian troop pullout.

For Pakistan, the mobilisation of Indian troops could not have come at a more inopportune time as it faced pressure from the United States-led coalition to step up deployment and vigil on the Afghan borders to halt the possible infiltration of the remnants of the Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

The Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman said that since the escalation of tensions between the two countries in December last, Islamabad had emphasised the importance of withdrawing the forces and resumption of dialogue, for the resolution of all outstanding issues.

Pakistan had always stood for normal relations with India and the resolution of the Kashmir dispute and all other differences on the basis of sovereign equality, justice, international norms and the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter through a sustained and purposeful dialogue.

``Pakistan has consistently called for de-escalation, withdrawal by India of its forces to peace-time locations and the resumption of a dialogue for the resolution of all outstanding issues, including the core issue of Kashmir," the spokesman said.

At the meeting of the Corps Commanders, Gen. Musharraf did claim that the Indian announcement on troop withdrawal had vindicated Pakistan's stance that the "only solution... was through dialogue and not coercion, belligerence and sabre-rattling.''

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