NEW DELHI, Jan 13: India said on Sunday it was ready to reciprocate Pakistan’s measures to reduce tension if President Pervez Musharraf’s announced crackdown on extremists was followed by “concrete action”.
In the first official reaction here to a much-awaited speech by President Musharraf on Saturday, Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh said India welcomed Pakistan’s “now declared commitment not to support or permit any more the use of its territory for terrorism anywhere in the world, including in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.”
But he added: “We would assess the effectiveness of this commitment only by the concrete action taken.”
“Consequently we expect Pakistan to cooperate with India in stopping all infiltration across the international border and the Line of Control” in disputed Kashmir, Singh said.
But Singh held out an olive branch, saying India “cannot expect immediate action” and was willing to play its part in defusing a month-long stand-off.
“For every one step that Pakistan takes, then we will take two steps,” Singh said.
“Should the government of Pakistan operationalize its intentions and move purposely toward eradicating cross-border terrorism, we will be prepared to resume the dialogue process,” he said.
However, Singh said “the lessening of tension on the border is entirely dependent on the steps taken by Pakistan on operationalizing Musharraf’s measures announced in his speech.”
He also shot down Musharraf’s call for international mediation to resolve the status of Kashmir.
“There is no scope for any third-party involvement,” Singh said.
He also rejected Musharraf’s statement that Amnesty International or other groups should monitor alleged human rights abuses by the “Indian occupation forces”.
“The government of India rejects entirely and categorically the comments of the president of Pakistan about the situation in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.”
Separately, Singh asked Musharraf to reconsider his opposition to handing over fugitives to India.
“Continuing lack of action against fugitives from law about whom detailed information has been provided to Pakistan on several occasions is disappointing,” he said.
“It’s my expectation that Pakistan might re-examine this question and readdress it. We will continue to emphasize it with Pakistan,” he added.
Singh also told reporters he had spoken since Musharraf’s speech with US Secretary of State Colin Powell, who begins a visit to the region on Tuesday, and with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, although he characterized the discussions as “routine”.
Singh rejected an easing of diplomatic sanctions taken since Dec 13, such as India’s withdrawal of its ambassador from Islamabad.
“We believe the steps taken by India have made the change in the Pakistani president’s attitude,” Singh said.—AFP