October 18, 2002	Friday	Sha'aban 11, 1423

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)

ISLAMABAD, Oct 17: Pakistan on Thursday decided to withdraw troops from its eastern border in response to a similar announcement made by India on Wednesday.

The decision was taken at a meeting presided over by President Gen Pervez Musharraf.

“The pullback will commence shortly,” a foreign office spokesman said in a statement issued on Thursday. He did not specify whether all the forces would be redeployed to peacetime locations or it would be a partial withdrawal.

Pakistan, the spokesman said, had always stood for normal relations with India and the resolution of the Kashmir dispute as well as all other differences on the basis of equality, justice, international norms and the principles of the UN charter, through a sustained dialogue.

The spokesman said that Pakistan had consistently called for de-escalation, withdrawal by India of its forces to peace-time locations and a resumption of dialogue for the resolution of all outstanding issues, including the core issue of Kashmir.

India had moved its troops to the forward positions along the border with Pakistan after an attack on the parliament building in Delhi in December.

Ihtasham ul Haque adds: President Gen Pervez Musharraf said on Thursday that the withdrawal of Indian troops from borders had vindicated Pakistan’s stance that the only solution to the issues facing India and Pakistan was through dialogue and not by coercion, belligerence and sabre-rattling.

Presiding over a meeting of the corps commanders at the GHQ, Gen Musharraf tributes to the professionalism, devotion to duty and determination of the armed forces who by the grace of Allah had braved all adversity, displaying high morale in the defence of the motherland.

According to the Inter-Service Public Relations, the meeting reviewed the geo-strategic environment in the region, situation on the international borders, the Line of Control and the Working Boundary. It reviewed the announcement by New Delhi that India would be withdrawing troops deployed on borders with Pakistan under a phased programme.

The president also congratulated armed forces for ensuring foolproof security arrangements on Oct 10 for the polling. He said it was due to these arrangements that people were able to exercise their right to vote without any hindrance in a free, fair and transparent manner.

He reiterated that the government would not in any way try to influence the future political setup and nor was it backing any particular party or group.

The president hoped that all political parties and successful candidates would strive for the establishment of a true, stable, democratic and political dispensation to work for the progress and development of the country.