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India Rules out Hot Pursuit of Terrorists in Kashmir
India on Friday ruled out for now hot pursuit of terrorists and their camps allegedly based in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir because it at present wanted the global war against the menace to succeed.
Home Affairs Minister L. K. Advani told foreign correspondents here that India would fight its own war against terrorism with a " firm hand."
"At this present moment we are not considering hot pursuit although under the international law a country can legitimately undertake such action if attacked by enemy," Advani said at a press conference organized by the Foreign Correspondents' Club.
In a statement on Tuesday when U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell arrived in New Delhi for a two-day visit, Defense Minister George Fernandes said India would be ruthless in dealing with terrorism and infiltration in Kashmir.
During his visits to Islamabad and New Delhi, Powell urged both sides to stand down in Kashmir while the U.S.-led military operation was going on in Afghanistan.
Advani said that an international ethos and climate created against terrorism would help India in its long-drawn campaign against the scourge.
On the international coalition against terrorism in which Pakistan is a major player, Advani said he did not find fault with Pakistan being a frontline state.
But, he quickly added, "the global community must ensure that it eliminates terrorism in all its aspects."
India has maintained that the protracted armed conflicts in Kashmir are terrorism sponsored by neighboring Pakistan while Islamabad said they were "freedom struggle" by the people in India- controlled area of the disputed valley.
Apparently referring to Pakistan, Advani said the United States and other countries in the international coalition "must ensure that those who were part of the war against terrorism are themselves not guilty of providing a safe haven to terrorists, hijackers and organizers of terrorist camps."
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