By
IOL South Asia Correspondent
NEW
DELHI, January 28 (IslamOnline) — Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari
Vajpayee Tuesday, January 28, asked the United States to exercise
"maximum restraint" and not wage war on Iraq "since it
was totally unwarranted and definitely not a solution to the
crisis."
“I
do not know what the Mahashakti (Superpower) will do but they should
show Mahasayyam (super restraint) and it is the need of the hour,”
he stressed, coming short of naming the United States.
Vajpayee
suggested that the U.S. should resolve the issue peacefully and
actively involve the United Nations in this regard.
“The
issue should be solved amicably and peacefully with the help of the
United Nations. Let peace prevail and that will only lead to
prosperity,” he said.
“In
the event of a war economy the world over would have a major setback.
Oil prices would also abruptly shoot up leading to shortfall and
severe crisis,” Vajpayee cautioned.
He
said India, being the biggest importer of oil from the Middle East
including Iraq, would be the worst sufferer.
The
recent statement of U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell that time was
running out for Iraq to disarm, and that the U.S. was ready to act
unilaterally, had sent the entire world into a tizzy.
Yashwant
Sinha, Federal External Affairs Minister, on January 19 strongly
opposed the forcible removal of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein under
any circumstances, and appealed for wisdom.
“We
strongly oppose any move by any country, however mighty it is, to
remove any regime anywhere… it is no country’s responsibility and
it is beyond any country’s authority to change any regime
anywhere,” Sinha said.
“If
at all military action has to be taken against Iraq, it should be
under the aegis of the U.N. and the U.S. or its allies should desist
from a direct act on that country,” Sinha stressed.
In
India, the likely U.S.-Iraq war, has sent the finance managers running
for cover.
Repercussions
have already started to show even before the war had actually begun.
Some
of the banks and companies in the country sounded a precarious note.
They
have invested heavily in government bonds. Fears of a war had already
sent bond prices plummeting.
Business
leaders said the conflict would lead to a spike in oil prices,
temporary inflation and financial anarchy.
Already
money markets in the country had been bullish for nearly two years due
to a low interest rate environment and low inflation expectations.
A
senior official at India’s premier industrial banking institution
IDBI Principal, Binai Chandgothia said: “In the next few days there
will be volatility amid lower volumes.”
Indian
Council of Research on International Economic Relations and Indira
Gandhi Institute of Development Research conducted a joint study which
said nearly two-thirds of the top banks would stand to lose over 25
percent of their equity capital in the event of a 320-basis point rise
in interest rates because of war.
Fears
of an impending war had its moments of nervousness.
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Anti-war
protesters march in Mumbai
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In
this season of marriages in India there had been a dampening effect on
the common man.
Price
of gold soared to an all-time high in the country, closing at rupees
6,020 (US$ 126.5) per ten grams.
“Despite
the fact that it is the height of the marriage season, there is very
little retail buying. Demand is down by over 50 percent,” said Kamal
Gupta, owner of a prominent jewelry shop in the national capital.
“Demand
in the physical market is dropping rapidly, the entire price spiral is
purely due to speculations,” he said.
The
fears of the war had been such that bullion merchants are not ready to
import gold at the current rates, which had also led to the rise in
prices of the prized yellow metal.
Meanwhile,
in a statement the visiting Speaker of the Iraqi National Assembly
Sa’adoun Hammadi Saturday, January 25, said he hoped India and the
Arab world would throw their weight behind efforts to avert a war in
the Gulf region.
“What
they have done is great. But they could do better. We do not want a
war and hope it will not take place.
“But
if it is forced on us, we will use every means we have and fight, and
we shall win,” he said.
Hammadi
is due to meet Premier Vajpayee before winding up his visit.
