Indian, Pakistani Ties still in Logjam

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, May 12, 2003

Indian, Pakistani Ties still in Logjam

Despite forward movement in Indo-Pakistani relations on the diplomatic front, the political ties between the two estranged neighbors seemed to continue to be in a state of logjam.

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Despite forward movement in Indo-Pakistani relations on the diplomatic front, the political ties between the two estranged neighbors seemed to continue to be in a state of logjam.

Indian leaders Saturday told visiting US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage that it would not resume dialogue with Islamabad until that country put a complete and permanent stop to cross-border terrorism.

Armitage, on his part, remarked that he was "cautiously optimistic" as far as the Indo-Pakistani ties were concerned and lauded Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's latest peace initiative, saying it could lead to step by step progress for improvement of relations between New Delhi and Islamabad.

He also indicated it was up to "India to make up (its) own mind" on whether Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf was fulfilling his promise on putting an end to terrorist infiltration. It was also India's decision on how to respond.

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on his part made it clear that India wanted peace and had taken the first step but would not go further until Pakistan ended cross-border terrorism. "Not recognizing the problem will not help," he added.

Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Navtej Sarna said India also pointed out the inadequacy of the Pakistani response to the Indian confidence-building measures. "We'll judge Islamabad on the basis of what it does, not what it says," he said.

Armitage pledged greater US pressure on Pakistan to rein in terrorist groups like the Lashkar-e-Tayyeba and Jaish-e-Mohammed. He reportedly told his Indian interlocutors that Musharraf had been specifically advised to act against these outfits.

He made it clear that there was no finessing terror as far as the United States is concerned.

To rebut Musharraf's recent claim that there were no terrorist camps in Pakistan, India provided Armitage detailed information on the locations of dozens of such camps.

Meanwhile, Pakistani Foreign Minister Mehmood Kasuri called Saturday for "unconditional" talks with nuclear rival India, saying that was the only way discussions would be fruitful.

He told a seminar that Pakistan has sent a message to New Delhi through US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage that Islamabad was serious in dialogue with India.

"India should also respond seriously without setting any preconditions," Kasuri said. "Any talks can only be successful if they are held without preconditions."

On the eve of Armitage's visit to New Delhi, India's Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani said that friendship with Pakistan was possible, but it must stop patronizing cross-border terrorism for any meaningful dialogue with India.

India accuses Pakistan of arming, training and sending militants to fight against its rule in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

But Pakistan denies the charge and says it only provides political and moral support to what it calls Kashmiri freedom fighters.

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