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India Expels Pakistani Envoy
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Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, the Pakistani envoy India has decided to expel |
By Zafarul-Islam Khan, IOL South Asia Correspondent
NEW DELHI, May 18 (IslamOnline) - India decided today to expel the Pakistani high commissioner, Ashraf Jehangir Qazi. The decision was taken at the Cabinet Committee on Security meeting this morning. External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh said the committee took a detailed and in-depth look into the situation and the decision was taken after that.
"For the sake of clarity of the relationship between the two countries," the Pakistan high commissioner is being "asked to go back to Islamabad", Jaswant Singh said.
After the attack on Parliament on December 13, India had recalled its high commissioner to Pakistan, Vijay Nambiar. Other measures included slashing diplomatic staff, halt of over-flight rights for airplanes and suspension of bus and train services between the two countries.
However, Pakistan's high commissioner, Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, remained in New Delhi. But the Indian government decided to ignore him and has dealt since with his deputy.
No other measures have been announced. And if the cabinet committee on security decided only to ask Pakistan to withdraw its high commissioner, in essence it decided to take no action for the simple reason that New Delhi was not dealing with the current Pakistani high commissioner any way.
Moreover, the current high commissioner, Ashraf Qazi, was about to leave India for good at the end of his tenure and was holding farewell parties!
The 2-hour cabinet committee on security was chaired by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at his residence. It was attended by Home Minister LK Advani, Defence Minister George Fernandes, External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh, Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha and the Centre's interlocutor on Kashmir KC Pant. National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra, Cabinet Secretary TR Prasad and chiefs of three services, Gen S Padmanabhan, Air Chief Marshal S. Krishnaswamy and Admiral Madhvendra Singh were also present. The committee reportedly assessed the security situation in the country following the recent terrorist attack in Jammu as well as the current exchange of fire across the line of control.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee visited the operations room in the Army headquarters in New Delhi where he was briefed about the situation on the border and took stock of the situation along the Indo-Pak border.
India today claimed that several Pakistani bunkers have been damaged in exchange of heavy firing across the international border and the Line of Control in Jammu region since Friday morning. Sources added that four Indian security personnel were also injured in the cross-border firing.
Sources added that the Pakistani rangers and troops targeted 55 border outposts along international border in RS Pura, Samba and Hiranagar sub-sectors with heavy firing and mortar shelling on Friday night, forcing the Indian security forces to retaliate.
Several Pakistani bunkers have been damaged on the other side of IB, they said, adding some casualties on Pakistani side are likely. Two Pakistani posts located opposite Paharpur area of Hiranagar sector of Kathua district were also destroyed after catching fire in the retaliatory action by Indian troops on Friday, according to Indian claims. Four soldiers were injured in the cross-firing in border outposts along the international border Friday evening and were admitted to the military hospital at Samba, sources said.
Russia too has joined the U.S. in asking India and Pakistan to desist from going to war even as it backed India's bid to stamp out cross-border terrorism in the wake of Tuesday's massacre near Jammu.
"We view the Indian side's desire to put an end to the brazen activities of the terrorists as just and absolutely legitimate. We are ready to provide all possible help in achieving this. We express our solidarity with the demands of our Indian friends," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko said.
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