ISLAMABAD, Jan 19 (IslamOnline) - Pakistan's military President, General Pervez Musharraf Friday said he believed that there would be no war between the
nuclear-armed India and Pakistan.
Musharraf's comment coincides with the statement of the U.S. Secretary of State, Colin Powell, who stated "both countries have promised that they will stop rhetoric and provocative statements against each other".
Powell left for Washington on Friday after completing his south Asia trip aimed at defusing tension between the two arch-rivals Pakistan and India.
Musharraf said that Pakistan desired peace but if war was thrust upon it, the country was ready to defend its sovereignty with full force.
Speaking at the inaugural session of a two-day Ulema and Mashaikh Conference in Islamabad, Musharraf said Pakistan's armed forces and its people were fully prepared to thwart any aggression with full force.
He asked the Indian leaders to stop making provocative statements and declared that Pakistan did not have to show actions to anybody to normalize relations between the two countries.
"We will not allow anyone to sit and judge us, as whatever measures we are taking for eliminating terrorism and religious extremism are aimed at reforming our own society and not to appease anyone," he stated.
The president regretted that the Indian leaders, specially their defense minister, were making unfair and provocative statements, which he believed would not help improve relations between the two nations.
"Let me use this forum to say that we will not show any action to please India. This public posturing particularly by the Indian defense minister is like becoming more pious than the pope," the president said.
For the first time he sharply reacted to the demands of the Indian leaders to translate his Jan 11 decisions into actions and said: "We are not here to listen to the dictates of anyone. Therefore, do not spoil the environment to have peace in the region."
Earlier, he said, he believed that there would not be any war with India. But, he pointed out, that when the Indians actually mobilized their troops on borders and
developed a capacity to attack it was an opener for Pakistan.
"This situation I feel is very dangerous and needs very careful handling of things."
"But nobody should have any doubt about our capability and capacity not only to respond but also to strike for which our armed forces have all the will and resolve," he said.
