March 28, 2002	Thursday	Muharram 13, 1423

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CHHOR, March 27: Pakistan has neutralized whatever pressure India tried to build by deploying troops along the border with Pakistan, by adopting diplomatic and defensive strategies.

This was stated by Director-General of the Inter-Services Public Relations Major-General Rashid Qureshi, while talking to newsmen during a visit to forward defences in the Chhor Sector bordering Rajhastan on Wednesday.

The visit of journalists to the forward areas was arranged to apprise them of the steps taken by the Pakistan Army for the defence of the country in the wake of the offensive posture adopted by the Indians who have concentrated troops on the border.

“Diplomatically we have conveyed to them that war is not feasible in this part of the world where one-fifth of the humanity lives.”

Therefore, he added, it was better that instead of creating more tension in the area, India withdrew its troops from the border area, he added.

By banning the passage of commercial air traffic from Pakistan over its territory, 165 Indian flights had been hit as compared to only 12 Pakistani flights, Gen Qureshi pointed out.

Gen Qureshi said that there had been about 100 casualties among the Indian troops because their vehicles had hit the mines laid by the Indians themselves.

In reply to a question regarding the current stand-off along the border, Gen Qureshi said that as long as there was threat from India, Pakistan troops would remain deployed along the borders.

“We have no aggressive designs and our troop deployment is purely in response to the Indian deployment, but we will defend every inch of our soil, in case we are attacked,” he maintained.