KARACHI, Dec 30: President Gen Pervez Musharraf said on Monday that the Indian government had started pulling back its troops due to his various covert messages to the Indian Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, that if a war was imposed on Pakistan it would not remain a conventional one.

“We have defeated an enemy without fighting a war. Now I can say with conviction that the threats we had been facing are over,” claimed Gen Musharraf while addressing the third reunion and installation ceremony of colonel commandant of the Army Air Defence Corps at Malir Cantt.

“Whenever a foreign leader met me (during the height of eyeball-to-eyeball crisis), I asked him to convey my message to Mr Vajpayee that if his troops took even a step across the international border or the LoC, we will not only be in front of them, we will surround them. It will not remain a conventional war,” said Gen Musharraf.

He claimed that owing to his persuasion, covert diplomacy and firmness the threat of war had receded as Pakistan did not come under any pressure.

Although Gen Musharraf did not explicitly mention the possible use of nuclear option, which both Pakistan and India claim to be a deterrent, his reference to a non-conventional war has left many things to the imagination of analysts.

Gen Musharraf said that after Kargil and Sept 11 incidents, the massive deployment of Indian troops was a serious threat to Pakistan’s security. The enemy, he said, had mobilised its troops to bring Pakistan under pressure to give up its principled stand on the Kashmir issue.

He dispelled the impression that reduction in external threat to Pakistan’s security was the result of indulgence by extra-regional actors. “Nobody came to our help. We have faced the situation on our own,” he emphasized.

He said “as the Indians have started pulling back their troops, Pakistan is also reciprocating, without being pressured. As such we have defeated the enemy without fighting a war.”

Gen Musharraf also underlined the role of air defence in modern warfare and held out the assurance that steps would be taken to strengthen the capability of this arm of the army.

He also recalled the threat to national security since Oct 1999, owing to internal and external factors.

Gen Musharraf explained that the internal threat was owing to the country’s economy and system of governance which were in bad shape and affecting the country’s place in the comity of nations.

The external threat was in the aftermath of Kargil episode, the Sept 11 event and the attack on the Indian parliament in December last year after which India deployed its forces on Pakistan border in a threatening posture.

“I proudly declare that the threat the country was facing due to poor economy or governance is over,” he said.

He emphasized the need for national harmony and hoped that the newly elected government focus would be towards alleviation of poverty.

He was convinced that the federal and provincial governments would complete their five years term.

He announced that he would extend an amount of one million rupees for the Air Defence Centre.

Gen Musharraf also praised the performance of the Air Defence Corps and said that he accorded importance to its development, progress and employment and that a strategy for this would be improved further.

Earlier, he installed Lt-Gen Ehsanul Haq as the new colonel commandant of the Army Air Defence Corps.