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| January 31, 2002 | Thursday | Ziqa’ad 16, 1422 |
Waiting for right time to talk, says Vajpayee
NEW DELHI, Jan 30: Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee ruled out an early de-escalation of the military build- up with Pakistan on Wednesday, saying he hoped Islamabad would first demonstrate its resolve to act against terrorism with concrete measures.
“There is no such proposal at this juncture,” Vajpayee said in response to a question whether there was any move by the government to reduce the troops deployed on the border.
Asked how long the government expected to wait for Pakistan to act on India’s demands, Vajpayee said: “We hope there will soon be uniformity in its (Pakistan’s) words and deeds.”
He said some fresh plans in India’s global campaign to pressure Pakistan to act on key demands that include repatriation of alleged terrorists and criminals that New Delhi says are being sheltered by Islamabad, and an end to cross-border raids by Kashmiri militants, were on the anvil.
Meanwhile, the Press Trust of India (PTI) quoted Indian External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh as saying in London that India would “wait and watch” Pakistan’s steps to end cross-border terrorism and abandoning it as a matter of state policy before it could decide on resumption of Indo-Pakistan dialogue.
“I am waiting for developments and creation of an atmosphere that facilitates dialogue. I would like to see developments in this regard on the ground,” Singh said addressing a press conference.
“India’s response for a dialogue has never been negative. But whether Pakistan is serious about what it declares or Pakistan Government’s intentions... we will judge how General Musharraf translates them into action on the ground,” he said when asked about the possibility of resumption of Indo-Pakistan dialogue.
“I would rather wait and watch the development both in regard to cross-border terrorism and abandonment of terrorism as a matter of state policy — wait for reduction in cross-border terrorism and encouragement to infiltration. I would like to see developments in this regard on the ground.”
Asked whether there has been a decline in the infiltration from across the border in the recent days, Singh said “there is considerable fall. It is part of a pattern owing to the heavy snowfall in the Kashmir and Jhelum Valley.”
When a correspondent asked whether there was any link between the build-up of forces on the border and the forthcoming elections in the Uttar Pradesh, he said India had been combating terrorism for over two decades.
The Star News channel said Singh was told by British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw that Britain would like both India and Pakistan to resolve their differences through dialogue.
Singh was atte