January 11, 2002	Friday	Shawwal 26, 1422

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ISLAMABAD, Jan 10: The Foreign Office on Thursday warned that the danger of an “accidental outbreak” cannot be ruled out so long as the Indian and Pakistan forces remained massively deployed on the borders amid high tension.

At his press briefing, FO spokesman Aziz Ahmad Khan was answering questions about the deployment of forces by the two countries and the present state of tension.

Because of this danger, he stressed, Pakistan had been asking India to open talks and reduce tension by withdrawing forces to their peace time locations.

The spokesman, however, assured that Pakistan had taken needed defensive measures against any possible Indian aggression and was prepared to face war from across borders.

The spokesman recalled a number of initiatives Pakistan had taken since the attack on Indian parliament to defuse the rising tensions. President Pervez Musharraf had urged India to sit on the negotiating table at which all contentious issues, including Kashmir, could be discussed and an attempt could be made to resolve the disputes peacefully. The president renewed the call during the recent Saarc summit in Kathmandu when he shook Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s hand and pressed him to open dialogue.

Pakistan, the spokesman recalled, was willing to accept deployment of multinational or the UN forces on both sides of the Line of Control to monitor the Indian accusations of cross-border terrorism so that any misconception about them could be dispelled.

He rejected any comparison as implied in a reporter’s question between terrorism and the freedom struggle in Kashmir. He pointed out that the freedom struggle was aimed at achieving the Kashmiris’ right to self-determination as assured in various UN resolutions supported by the international community and promised by the Indian leadership as well. The UN resolution was as sacred as any other UN resolutions, he stressed and wondered how could freedom struggle in Kashmir be termed terrorism?

The spokesman said that the US government had appreciated what the Pakistan government had been doing to help the international community in its strikes against terrorism in Afghanistan, and the US Secretary of State Colin Powell had expressed satisfaction at the assistance Pakistan had extended in this regard.

He denied that a number of Al Qaeda key members had crossed into Pakistan and said that Islamabad had ensured assistance at the border vigilance to prevent any slippages and added that a large number of suspected persons had been rounded up.

In reply to a question, he said that the programme of Mr Powell’s visit to Islamabad was being prepared and it would be officially announced when date of the secretary’s arrival had been finalized.

He said that steps for re-establishing diplomatic missions in Pakistan and Afghanistan were being taken and Pakistani teams had visited Kabul in this connection.

Agencies add: A two-member delegation of the Afghan interim government would be visiting Pakistan, the FO spokesman said.

Mr Khan said that Afghan finance minister and one of the deputy chairmen would hold talks with Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar and Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz.

The spokesman denied reports that US forces had chased members of the Al Qaeda and the Taliban fighters across the Afghan border into Pakistan with Islamabad’s agreement.

“They have not been allowed to chase anyone into Pakistan. There is no such incident that has taken place,” Mr Khan said.