Indian PM Rules Out Withdrawal of Forces From Border

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, March 25, 2002

Indian PM Rules Out Withdrawal of Forces From Border

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Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Monday ruled out withdrawal of forces from India-Pakistan border and said conducive atmosphere is yet to be created by Islamabad for resumption of bilateral dialogue.

"There is no such proposal (of withdrawing troops from the border)," Vajpayee was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India (PTI) at a press conference in north India's Shimla city, capital of the Himachal Pradesh state.

Meanwhile, the prime minister also allayed fears that the current India-Pakistan impasse could trigger a nuclear conflict.

"There is no possibility or threat of a nuclear war. India has already declared that it would not be the first to use nuclear weapons and Pakistan has also expressed similar views. I did not see any threat of a nuclear war," he was quoted as saying.

India and Pakistan started their largest military mobilization along the borders in the wake of the December 13 terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament last year, which quickly heightened tension between the two south Asian neighbors. Nearly one million troops from both sides reportedly gathered in the border areas.

Pakistan has on many occasions called for talks with India to defuse the current tension, but New Delhi insists that Islamabad fulfill its five demands first, which include the handover of 20 persons on Pakistani soil wanted by India as "terrorists and criminals".

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