India Pulls Warships Back From Pakistan

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, June 12, 2002

India Pulls Warships Back From Pakistan

India warships began to pull back from positions close to Pakistan Tuesday in another move aimed at reducing the threat of war between the nuclear rivals.

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India warships began to pull back from positions close to Pakistan Tuesday in another move aimed at reducing the threat of war between the nuclear rivals.

Officials said the withdrawal would be followed in the next few days with a resumption of full diplomatic relations and the appointment of a new Indian High Commissioner to Islamabad.

The concessions came a day after India lifted a six-month ban on Pakistan using its airspace, the first in a series of steps aimed at reducing tension over the disputed region of Kashmir.

India said that the measures were being taken in response to an apparent fall in the number of Pakistani militants crossing into Indian-administered Kashmir after a crackdown by the Pakistani Government.

Dozens of warships from the Western Fleet began steaming back to their base in Bombay. Five extra ships moved from the eastern seaboard will also be pulled back from Pakistani waters, but will remain on the west coast for the time being, an apparent indication of India��s reluctance to take any irreversible steps.

India is also preparing to name Harsh Bhasin as its new High Commissioner to Islamabad this week. He returned to Delhi from a lecturing post in New York recently to prepare for his new assignment.

The pullback of the warships was the first sign of military de-escalation between the two countries since a million men were mobilised along the common border in January after an attack on the Indian Parliament by Islamic militants.

Indian officials, however, said that there would be no corresponding withdrawal along the land border until at least October, when state elections are due to be held in Indian-administered Kashmir. India is pinning its hopes on the forthcoming election as a vindication of its rule over the Muslim-majority state and is anxious not to allow militant violence to disrupt the polls.

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