Advani
said while India was angry with Pakistan, it was "deeply
disappointed" with the U.S. "I told him (Ambassador
Blackwill) that the U.S. stance has only encouraged them (Pakistan).
The Government of India has never shirked from saying this. After
today's debate one other thing has emerged - that the whole nation is
together on the issue of defeating terrorism, and that for this
victory we will have to rely on our ability, on the ability of the
country, its army and its people," he said.
Earlier,
the Indian Opposition attacked the Government accusing it of failure
to effectively combat terrorism. Even the ruling Nation Democratic
Alliance (NDA) allies wanted the Government to take tough decisions
and concrete action to end cross-border terrorism. Congress Party
leader Sonia Gandhi assured the government of her party's full support
and cautioned it that mere "customary rhetoric" would not
help.
However,
leftist parties struck a cautious note saying war was not a solution
as Pakistan was also a nuclear state. Communist leader Somnath
Chatterjee said that "jingoistic utterances" by sections
within the NDA for a war with Pakistan would not solve the Kashmir
issue.
"Don't
forget that, along with you, they (Pakistan) too are a nuclear
country," the Marxist leader said in the Parliament. He ridiculed
the talk of a "limited war" with Pakistan, saying that,
according to eminent defence experts, there was no such concept.
"We do not understand what is a limited war."
It
is clear now that war cries are dying down and India has decided to
mount a
diplomatic
offensive instead, and to counter Pakistani propaganda on the
international level as it did in the wake of the attack on the Indian
Parliament last December. India will apprise the international
community of its concerns over unabated infiltration and terrorism
from across the border.
The
External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh has put off his scheduled
12-day visit to Kenya, Tanzania and Mauritius from May 27 in view of
the present circumstances. Prime Minister Vajpayee too may not be
going on his foreign tour to Central Asia for the same reason.
Indian
embassies have been asked to appraise the host countries of Pakistan's
"designs." In New Delhi, the Foreign Ministry is keeping
foreign missions up to date over the Indo-Pak developments.
There
is speculation that the next few days may witness new moves in the
diplomatic and political field like reducing the strength of the
Pakistani high commission in India, expelling the Pakistani high
commissioner, abrogating Indus Water Treaty etc.
After
the December 13 attack on the Parliament building, India had announced
stiff measures including withdrawing the Indian high commissioner from
Islamabad [Pakistan did not reciprocate], asking Pakistan to reduce by
50 per cent staff strength of its mission besides snapping road and
air links.
The
United States has been urging both India and Pakistan to exercise
restraint and has decided to send another U.S. official to the region
to follow up and coax the two countries to resume dialogue. Reportedly
Secretary of State Colin Powell is personally engaged in this effort.
The
Bush administration will be sending Deputy Secretary of State Richard
Armitage to the region to cool tensions between India and Pakistan
within a fortnight. The Armitage mission follows the visit to the
region of US Assistant Secretary of State Christina Rocca.
In
Islamabad, a spokesman for Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said
that Islamabad would not be intimidated by Delhi. "If India
resorts to threats ... to bully Pakistan, then Pakistan ... will do
everything in its power to protect itself," Pakistani official
spokesman General Rashid Qureshi was quoted as saying.
Pakistan
Information Minister, Nissar Memon, told reporters in Lahore Thursday
that "anything can happen any time." Pakistan daily The
News today quoted Memon as saying that US Assistant Secretary of
State for South Asian Affairs Christina Rocca has not mentioned
Pakistan's involvement in cross border terrorism in her talks with
officials in Islamabad.
In
an interview to be published Sunday in Germany's Der Spiegel
magazine, Musharraf warns that if the pressure on Pakistan becomes too
great then "as a last resort, the atom bomb is also
possible". He said India had a "superpower obsession"
and was energetically arming itself. Both states tested nuclear
weapons in 1998, the first time Pakistan admitted its nuclear
capability.
While
New Delhi and Islamabad talked tough, their armies exchange heavy
firing on the line of control (LoC) in Kashmir. Much of the
cross-border firing was in the Samba and Ramgarh sectors, where Indian
soldiers are trying to build a fence along the border.
