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Indian Opposition Warns Against Use of Indian Soil by Foreign Troops
In response to the media report about a U.S. military transport aircraft landing and refueling in Delhi on Friday, India's major Opposition party the Congress party on Saturday warned the government against allowing Indian soil to be used by foreign troops to attack a third country.
"We should not allow Indian soil to be used by foreign troops to attack a third country," Congress leader and chairman of the party's foreign affairs cell K Natwar Singh was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India (PTI).
However, Singh said that he had no objection to American military aircraft halting here for refueling as this had been permitted in the past.
Meanwhile, India's Left parties criticized the government for allowing landing facilities to American military aircraft.
The Left parties said that this action went against the government's earlier assurance given at an all-party meeting that India's involvement will not go beyond exchange of information with the U.S.
Major Indian newspapers reported on Saturday that a Hercules C- 130 transport aircraft of the U.S. Air Force landed in the Palam Air Base of Delhi at around noon on Friday and stayed for several hours for refueling.
The landing of the American transport plane seemed to be the first step in India's "collaborating" with U.S. in a possible strike against Afghanistan, Communist Party of India leader D Raja was quoted as saying while condemning this move.
Seeking to end speculation over the U.S. military plane's sudden arrival, Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and his government, which on Friday declined to give further details or comment on the event, stated on Saturday that the flight of the plane had nothing to do with U.S. operations against Afghanistan.
The plane "transported six U.S. personnel for duty with the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi", an Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesperson told the PTI on Saturday.
The flight came from Singapore and returned to Singapore after a 2.5-hour stay in Delhi, the spokesperson added.
According to the PTI, a U.S. Embassy spokesman also denied that the aircraft had carried any combat troops or equipment or that it had flown from here to Tajikistan as reported in the media.
The aircraft left for Singapore after refueling, he added.
Indian Minister of State for External Affairs Omar Abdullah also said on Saturday that India saw no likelihood of U.S. operations against Afghanistan being launched from its soil.
Washington is "unlikely to make a request for launching operations against Afghanistan from India... There are frontline states like Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Pakistan", Abdullah noted.
But he reiterated that India "is giving total support to the global fight against terrorism."
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