NEW DELHI, Jan. 30 (IslamOnline) - Ruling out the immediate pull back of troops from the Indo-Pak borders, Indian Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, today asked Pakistan to translate its promises on cracking down on (alleged) terrorists into action.
"There is no such proposal at this juncture", Vajpayee told reporters in New Delhi when asked if there is any move to withdraw or reduce troops deployed on the borders following mounting tension, reported the official Indian news agency, PTI.
Responding to questions at a function in the Indian capital on whether the time has come for withdrawal of troops, the Prime Minister said "not yet."
Asked how long the Indian government would wait for Pakistan to act on its assurances of acting against terrorists, the Prime Minister said "we hope there will soon be uniformity in its (Pakistan's) words and deeds."
India's hardened stand on military issues with Pakistan was also evident from Indian Minister of State, Rajiv Pratap Rudy's comments on Wednesday in Dubai. Rudy said India will not pull back troops from its borders until Pakistan took steps to de-escalate tension, Indian daily newspaper, Times of India, reported Wednesday.
Calling on Pakistan "to end its backing for cross-border terrorism" as a pre-condition for talks, Rudy told the local media that "there would be no pull back of troops from the borders until India" was sure there was "action on the ground."
"December 13 was not an isolated incident, India has been the target of such attacks before but it must not be allowed to happen again", he said.
Asked why India was reluctant to talk to Pakistan, Rudy said the attack on the Indian parliament in December, which was "aimed at wiping out the entire political class," changed the Indian leadership's thinking.
