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U.S., U.K. Ready to Send Troops to India, Armitage in Delhi
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Hoon
admitted
India
was “not yet wholly persuaded” of having a U.S.-British
monitoring force.
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BRUSSELS,
June 7 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – As U.S. Deputy Secretary
of State Richard Armitage arrived Friday, Jun 7 in New Delhi in search
of an Indian commitment similar to the peace pledge he got from the
Pakistani leadership, the U.S. and Britain are ready to send troops to
Kashmir to monitor the Line of Control dividing Indian and
Pakistani-held territory.
The
plan to ease the tensions between
India
and
Pakistan
has been discussed by U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and his
British counterpart Geoff Hoon, although it has yet to be agreed with
either of the nuclear-armed rivals.
On
Thursday, June 6,
India
, which considers
Kashmir
an internal issue, ruled out any form of international monitoring
force.
But
after a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels, Hoon confirmed
that he was considering sending British soldiers, and Rumsfeld will
discuss the proposal when he visits Islamabad and Delhi early next
week, The Times of London reported.
Hoon
admitted that
India
was “not yet wholly persuaded” of the idea of having an
American-British monitoring force. However, he confirmed that the
proposal had been raised with both countries and appeared to indicate
that the Government in
Delhi
had not rejected it out of hand.
Hoon
said that the idea was still at an early stage, and emphasized that it
would not be possible if the tension along the Line of Control made
the deployment of British troops too dangerous. He did not intend to
risk the lives of British troops or to place them in a position where
they would be unable to do their job effectively.
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"I'm
very heartened to hear of President Musharraf's desire to have
war avoidance," said Armitage. |
However,
The Times quoted him as saying: “There has been a general discussion
on the need to find a practical way of giving both sides reassurance,
particularly
India
because there have been some infiltrations across the Line of Control
and an international monitoring force could be suitable.
“We’re
willing to look at every option to give
Pakistan
and
India
a reason not to launch an attack against each other.”
The
proposal, which is not expected to involve a large number of British
troops, is the latest scheme aimed at trying to defuse the
increasingly dangerous confrontation lest it spark nuclear war on the
sub-continent.
India
has until now rejected an international force and has suggested joint
patrols along the Line of Control with Pakistani soldiers.
Nirupamam
Rao, the Indian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, said Thursday that
India
and
Pakistan
were “quite capable” of patrolling the Line of Control.
Pakistan
has always wanted to internationalize the
Kashmir
issue and has rejected
Delhi
’s proposal.
However,
British defense sources said that what the two sides were saying in
private was very different from what they were saying in public.
Meanwhile,
clutching a peace pledge from Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf,
troubleshooting U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage
arrived Friday in
New Delhi
in search of a similar commitment from the Indian leadership as part
of a global drive to stave off war over
Kashmir
.
Indian
foreign ministry officials say
New Delhi
will brief Armitage on its own proposal for joint patrols with
Pakistan
along the LoC.
India
is not in favor of international troops patrolling the LoC, saying
such a move would be dangerous.
National
Security Advisor Brajesh Mishra, who is due to hold talks with
Armitage later in the day, said Thursday in
Moscow
that inexperienced international patrols could lead to innocent
civilian casualties.
"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," Mishra said,
quoted by Agence France-Presse (AFP).
India
's media hinted Friday that
New Delhi
may be willing to move forward by proposing a mechanism that includes
joint patrols and at the same time putting in place procedures to
share intelligence on infiltration into Indian-ruled
Kashmir
.
Western
diplomats say the international monitors could be deployed on the
Pakistani side only of the LoC in an effort to appease
New Delhi
, AFP said.
The
Indian press also hinted that should Armitage be able to make some
headway on these issues, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, due
in the region next week, may hold off his visit for a while to watch
developments.
The
straight-talking Armitage emerged from his talks with Musharraf
Thursday looking buoyant and confirmed he had secured an assurance
that
Pakistan
is determined to avoid a war with
India
.
"President
Musharraf made it very clear that he is searching for peace and he
would not be the one to initiate war," Armitage said. "I'm
very heartened to hear of President Musharraf's desire to have war
avoidance."
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