NEW DELHI, Oct 13: India, under pressure from the United States and Europe to end its military confrontation with Islamabad, indicated on Sunday that it would review its massive troop deployment along the border with Pakistan on Wednesday.

But, Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishan Advani maintained there was nothing in Pakistan’s recent polls to encourage the two countries to resume their stalled peace talks.

On the contrary, Advani, who addressed a news conference to mark three years of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s third administration since 1996, said: “There have been elections in which democracy has not been strengthened but the army has. Our concerns regarding cross-border terrorism have therefore increased.”

About the prospect of India pulling back its troops deployed in the wake of an attack on parliament on Dec 13 last year, Advani said Vajpayee had summoned a meeting of the apex security board before leaving for Europe a week ago, to review the possibility.

He said the National Security Advisory Board would be held where all members of the cabinet committee on security also would be present in which the entire gamut of these issues would be discussed.

“Because at the time Vajpayeeji left, Jammu and Kashmir elections were yet to be over, Pakistan elections were yet to be over — so it was fair that after these elections are over, an indepth study of the situation would be held and this meeting has been convened for the 16th of this month and after that whatever decision the government wants to take it will take,” Advani said.

The remark appeared to suggest that whatever decision is made on Wednesday ought not to be construed as a compliance with pressure to withdraw troops that Vajpayee may have faced in his meetings with European leaders, including British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Advani said a war-like situation existed between India and Pakistan as an “undeclared war is already on”.

Denying a leadership tussle was on in the Bharatiya Janata Party, Advani said Vajpayee would lead the party into the next general elections in 2004 as prime minister.

Commenting on the prospects of holding talks with the new Pakistan administration, he said: “India’s decision in respect of dialogue was not related to a civilian government being there or a military government being there. Let it not be forgotten that it was military government in office under Gen Musharraf which was formally invited by Prime Minister Vajpayee in Agra to come for a dialogue.”

He said the Agra dialogue crumbled because of Pakistan’s refusal to accept that there is anything like terrorism happening in Jammu and Kashmir.

Gen Musharraf thought “what was happening in Jammu and Kashmir is a freedom struggle and so even if innocent women and children are killed it happens in a freedom struggle. It was this particular stand taken by the government and the Pakistan leader which made the Agra summit futile,” Advani said.

Subsequently the Indian government had taken the stand that it would be willing “to discuss with Pakistan all issues including Jammu and Kashmir only if it abandons the path of cross-border terrorism, which it has not done. Nor does it seem inclined to do. Therefore, at the present point in time, there is no question of a dialogue”.

Advani appeared to be resisting the idea of any change in India’s hard-line position on Pakistan. In fact, he appeared to place a question mark even over Vajpayee’s proposed participation at the Saarc summit in Islamabad in January.

“It’s for the prime minister to decide when he comes back,” Advani said when asked if Vajpayee would be attending the summit. Other Indian leaders had given the impression that there was at least no problem with Vajpayee travelling to Pakistan next year.

India has demanded a halt to Pakistan’s support for militants in Kashmir before easing the standoff. Pakistani leaders in June promised a US envoy they would seal off the Kashmir border. Advani said India’s concerns have increased since last week’s parliamentary election in Pakistan, the first since President Pervez Musharraf seized power in a bloodless 1999 coup. Islamic parties have made strong gains in the vote.