December 29, 2001	Saturday	Shawwal 13, 1422

ISLAMABAD, Dec 28: India’s mounting pressure on Pakistan, unopposed by the United States and Britain, could hamper President Pervez Musharraf’s attempts to curb radical groups, diplomats say.

“If India pulls too hard on the cord, it could break,” said a senior diplomat based in Islamabad.

Pakistan has already frozen the assets of Lashkar-i-Taiba and Jaish-i- Mohammad and arrested the founding head of the Jaish, Maulana Masood Azhar.

However, the public response from New Delhi has been dismissive.

Western diplomats say the United States and Britain “seem to be helping relay the Indian message in order to extract more concessions from Islamabad” in cracking down on radical groups.

However, analysts believe this “Indo-American collusion” is dangerous because the Pakistan government “cannot be allowed to lose face” over Kashmir.

“It would be wiser to win the confidence of the Pakistani government and to let it implement, at its rate and rhythm, measures which it is weighing” against the religious extremists, said an Islamabad-based ambassador.

The actions taken by India “complicate Musharraf’s task, and risk delaying by six months measures that could have been taken right away”, he said.

Washington, which is pursuing its own goals in Afghanistan, is starting to become aware of the dangers of pushing Pakistan too far, particularly after it obliged by turning its back on the Taliban after Sept 11.

US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, anxious about the possibility that Pakistani troops massed at the Afghan border could be shifted east to Kashmir, stresses the importance of Islamabad’s role in hunting down remaining Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters.

Rumsfeld said on Thursday it was “very encouraging” that Pakistan had not yet withdrawn forces from the Afghan border, and added that any redeployment “would be a big disappointment”.

On the India-Pakistan tensions, Rumsfeld said the United States had clearly informed the nuclear rivals that their rapidly escalating standoff could detract from its war on terrorism.

“This is something we’re keeping our eye on very carefully, and we have clearly made the interests we have in this subject known to both sides very carefully and with clarity,” he said.—AFP