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NEW DELHI, Jan 10: India is unlikely to withdraw its troops from the border with Pakistan soon as they are part of a strategy to negotiate a deal with Islamabad, a newspaper said on Thursday.
“The mobilization of ground troops along the borders is central to the strategy that will strengthen India’s hands during future negotiations,” The Hindu newspaper said, quoting government sources.
It said New Delhi is seeking to build a “suitable political environment in the region” which, it hopes, would “eventually enable it to make a deal with Pakistan”.
“India is unlikely to pull back forces unless Pakistan takes some dramatic decisions that will make the military mobilization redundant,” the sources said.
“The mobilization has been central to the intense international pressure now being imposed on President Pervez Musharraf for a crackdown on terrorists of all hues.”
The report said New Delhi was likely to continue its “coercive diplomacy vis-a-vis Pakistan by ensuring that the military situation on the borders remains unaltered”.
FERNANDES: Indian Defence Minister George Fernandes on Thursday paid a flying visit to occupied Kashmir to review the security situation.
A spokesman for the held state’s government said Fernandes took stock of the security setup during a meeting of the unified military command.
He said heads of the army, paramilitary force and police attended the meeting at a high-security convention centre on the shores of Lake Dal in Srinagar.
Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah and Governor Girish Saxena were also present at the 20-minute meeting.
“The visiting minister chaired the meeting,” an official spokesman said. “He was briefed about the prevailing security scenario by the civil and security officers, besides the chief minister,” he said.
Fernandes later dashed back to New Delhi, cancelling a scheduled news conference.
Police, paramilitary forces and army personnel patrolled the streets of Srinagar to prevent Mujahideen from staging attacks on camps and installations during his visit.
Several areas of the city were sealed off and searches carried out. Abdullah convened a high-level meeting of police and civilian officials late on Wednesday to review security in the held state.
“I have talked to (Indian) Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and he is not for war,” Abdullah said.—AFP
