December 24, 2001	Monday	Shawwal 8, 1422

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NEW DELHI, Dec 23: Two Indian troopers of the Border Security Force were killed by Pakistani Rangers and a key commander of the Lashkar-i-Taiba was shot dead by Indian troops in Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday as New Delhi said its forces were being kept on a very high alert although a war with Pakistan did not look imminent as of now.

As tensions remained high between the two countries, India also accused President Pervez Musharraf of not completely understanding the seriousness of the moment, a fact that it said was reflected in his recent remarks that Indian arrogance was the main cause for the withdrawal of its envoy from Islamabad.

The only report of a lighter interaction came in an incomplete-sounding story of a meeting between Indian and Pakistani foreign ministers in Kabul on Saturday. The Times of India carried a small item on its Front Page saying: “External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh and his Pakistani counterpart, Abdul Sattar met briefly as they sat in the front row during the swearing in of Afghanistan’s interim government.”

The report quoted Singh as greeting Sattar and then following it up with a remark in Urdu: Kahaan Kahaan Dushman Mil Jaatey Hain (One meets enemies in unlikely places). Sattar’s response was “welcome ji”. The Times report was apparently based on a third person briefing which evidently did not provide the entire picture of the encounter.

Briefing reporters at the end of a three-hour-long meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security, Singh said on Sunday that Gen Musharraf’s response to Indian moves amounted to “negating seriousness of the situation” and added that he must discount the latter’s tendency to engage in “military malapropism”.

Singh said he could not help but wonder how the Pakistani President could comment in such a manner on an issue of such high importance to India. Probably, Singh added, Musharraf was using the language freely “to mean not what it actually means but to convey what he thinks it ought to mean”. “It is extremely regretful”, he remarked.

Commenting on the killing of the Border Security Force personnel in Samba sector in Jammu division, Singh said India would give a “befitting” reply. He, however, refused to comment on troop movement towards the border. That indication came from Defence Minister George Fernandes.

The defence minister said even as India continues building both diplomatic and military pressure on Islamabad, he did not feel the current situation would lead to a conflict between India and Pakistan.

Maintaining that Indian forces have always been on the alert on the western frontiers, Fernandes said: “Sept 11 terrorist attack on the US itself made us take more precautions because after all terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir has its roots in Pakistan and Afghanistan. And Dec 13 made it imperative to get the defence forces into a state of very high alert.”

Immediately after the Dec 13 incident, Pakistani reserve divisions and other strike forces were moved to the frontlines “but they have not taken up any battle position,” he said. This is when India had to bring its forces closer to the border both in Punjab and Rajasthan. These include movement of some formations of strike forces, he said.

Asked whether he believed the subcontinent was a nuclear flashpoint, Fernandes said India’s nuclear doctrine was very clear and categorical — that it would not be the first to fire a nuclear weapon.

“And one would like to believe that every country knows the implications of using such a weapon,” he said. Asked if Islamabad could attempt any adventurism in this regard, Fernandes said: “There is no reason for us to believe that such a step would be taken by Pakistan.”

Briefing about the CCS meeting, Singh said it took stock of the evolving situation following the Dec 13 attack on Parliament.

Signs of the government’s growing pressure on Pakistan came at Home Minister LK Advani’s speech at an academic function near Delhi on Sunday.

“After Dec 13, efforts are being made that we should go for a decisive victory over our neighbours who are trying to de-stabilize our country,” said Advani. “The government is fully committed to end the menace of terrorism. The Centre has neither hesitated from taking any decision nor has its decision been influenced by anyone,” he said.

“We have been drawing the attention of the world leaders towards the growing menace of terrorism. Our concern is that all countries should take a united stand to end terrorism,” he said.

Meanwhile, India has described as “completely false” Islamabad’s allegations that a Pakistan High Commission staffer was “kidnapped” and “tortured” by Indian intelligence officials. Indian reports quoted sources in the Ministry of External Affairs as saying that the staffer was “caught red-handed” while collecting documents from his contact and was handed back to the Pakistan High Commission.

Meanwhile, Indian reports said troops had gunned down the deputy chief of Lashkar-i-Taiba militant outfit, Saifullah alias Owais, in Baramulla district of north Kashmir.

Saifullah was killed by an army search party in a fierce encounter in Watrena village near Lawaypora in Bandipora area late last night, a Defence spokesman said on Sunday.

Terming the killing a “major blow” to the LT, he said Saifullah had been involved in militancy for the last several years and was the brain behind several fidayeen (suicide) attacks on security camps and convoys in north Kashmir.

The Sunday Times meanwhile quoted intelligence sources as saying that an Indian strike on militant targets across the border was being assessed by a team of top army and intelligence officers, who would give their inputs to the government within 10 days to take a final decision on the feasibility of crossing the Rubicon.