NEW YORK, June 4: India seemed to pull back a bit from the brink of war as the tough American pressure on Pakistan to rein in the “cross-border infiltration” mollified the Indian officials.
The New York Times said in a report on Tuesday that in interviews top Indian officials suggested that tough US diplomatic pressure on Pakistan had cooled tempers in India, though Indian officials still insist that they will judge President Pervez Musharraf by whether he “actually delivers.”
However, the Times said if India does not give Pakistan something in return for the general’s steps on infiltration, western diplomats worry that he may balk at further concessions.
“Diplomacy has succeeded in averting a crisis so far,” one senior Indian official told the Times. “I see the possibility of war receding unless there is a major provocation.”
The timeframe is important. If India does not act by the end of this month, when the monsoons are expected to begin, military action would become more complicated. Other officials counted up the diplomatic gains India had made in the last week or two, specially since Gen Musharraf made what Indian officials regarded as a defiant speech a week ago in which he said no infiltration was taking place across the Line that divides Kashmir between the nuclear-armed rivals, the paper said.
Indian officials told the paper that the Americans had assured them that Gen Musharraf said he had ordered his army commanders to stop the infiltration, though the American officials add that they, too, are waiting to see whether he follows through.
At a news conference in Almaty, Brajesh Mishra, Mr Vajpayee’s national security adviser, noted Gen Musharraf’s promises to the United States and Britain, saying, “If these promises are implemented and we can verify them, then we will take appropriate steps.
“General Musharraf asserts that he has already taken
bold steps to root out extremism and insists that it is time
India reciprocates by scaling back its military buildup along their border and sitting down to talks.”
But comments by other officials, the Times says, suggest that India is likely to wait. “India has already decided to give time,” one official said.
Another said while India would not dilute its opposition to terrorism, it did not want a violent solution. “Pakistan’s actions in the next few weeks and months in terms of delivering on the promises it has made will really hold the key to what happens in the future,” the official said. “We will not act in irrational haste.”
