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India Rejects International Patrols for Kashmir
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| Musharraf
reacted cautiously to Vajpayee’s suggestion of joint
Indo-Pak patrols of Kashmir
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MOSCOW
, June 6 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) -
India
opposes a plan for
U.S.
and U.N. troops to patrol the
province
of
Kashmir
, favoring joint patrols by Indian and Pakistani troops,
India
’s National Security Advisor Brajesh Chandra Mishra said Thursday,
June 6.
“This
terrain is a very difficult one, and only
India
and
Pakistan
know it inch by inch. Therefore it is more important that
India
and
Pakistan
monitor this territory inch by inch on their own,” Mishraj told a
press conference in
Moscow
.
Indian
Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee proposed Wednesday, June 5, that
New Delhi and Islamabad carry out joint patrols of the Himalayan
region, but Pakistan President General Pervez Musharaf has reacted
cautiously to the proposal.
Instead,
the Pakistani leader has suggested monitoring by the
United States
and the United Nations, while
Washington
is to propose a U.S.-British military monitoring force in a bid to
defuse the threat of nuclear conflict, reports said Thursday.
However
Mishra warned after talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin that
inexperienced international patrols could lead to innocent civilian
casualties, citing victims of friendly fire during the U.S.-led
campaign in
Afghanistan
.
“With
all of the technologies available to the countries of the West - as
you know a lot of mistakes were committed in
Afghanistan
,” Mishra told journalists here.
“The
terrain of
Jammu and Kashmir
is more difficult than the terrain in
Afghanistan
. So you will forgive me if we have some questions about the efficacy
of international monitors,” added the Indian security chief, a close
aide to Vajpayee.
Russia
, a long-time ally of
India
, has sought to mediate the conflict between
South Asia
's nuclear neighbors, with Putin using a regional summit in
Kazakhstan
this week to launch an unsuccessful peace initiative.
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