Date:11/01/2003 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2003/01/11/stories/2003011103291200.htm

International

'No chance for accidental n-war with India'

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD Jan. 10 . After the recent alarm over his statement that he had sent several messages to the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, not to expect a `conventional' war if India were to cross the Line of Control (LoC), the Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf, has sought to reassure the world that there was no chance of an "accidental" nuclear war with India.

In an interview with the Pakistan daily, Pakistan Observer, Gen. Musharraf has disclosed that Pakistan's missiles were not nuclear-tipped and were kept geographically apart under the nuclear command. He has answered a wide range of questions particularly on the controversies over Pakistan's alleged nuclear proliferation.

Significantly, Gen. Musharraf has also disclosed that the Nuclear Command Authority, entrusted with the task of development and deployment of nuclear weapons, has been revamped after the recent so-called transfer of power from the military to a civilian set-up. ``This is not a Warsaw Pact vs. NATO situation where warheads and missiles were ready for fire with a button in hand. There is no button in our case. Missiles and warheads are not permitted together. There is a geographical separation between them,'' Gen. Musharraf said in response to a pointed question as to who controlled the Pakistan nuclear button.

``One has to go up the escalation ladder to come to the stage of pressing of the button,'' he said and maintained that no individual has been authorised to press the button. There is a National Command and Control Authority responsible for development and deployment of all nuclear and strategic weapons.

On India, he accused the Vajpayee Government of suffering from an "attitudinal'' problem and asserted that he was not prepared to "grant any more concessions'' on the Kashmir issue. ``The ball is now in the Indian court. Pakistan is not ready to grant more concessions to India.'' Indian leaders were "slaves to a mindset'' and were struck by an attitudinal problem, he said.

``We need some external diplomacy to bring India back to the table for talks,'' he said adding, "Attitudinal change in Indian leaders is what Pakistan is very eagerly looking for. This can be facilitated only by the international community.'' He expressed the hope that the Indian Government would respond positively to Mr. Jamali's offer of talks.