Posted on 05/14/2002 3:49:39 PM PDT by TheRedSoxWinThePennant
India hints at launching attack on Pakistan
Updated on 2002-05-13 12:02:43
NEW DELHI, May 13 (PNS): The Indian government has quietly signaled to the US and other Western governments that it is considering limited military action against Pakistan if what India calls the infiltration of terrorists into Kashmir is not curbed. This led the US to decide on Thursday to rush US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, Christina Rocca, to India and Pakistan next week.
Sources quoted by Hindustan Times say India has hinted it is contemplating assaults on the mountain passes on the Pakistan side of the LoC or even airstrikes on alleged terrorist camps in Azad Kashmir. "The message was difficult not to miss," said a Western diplomat.
The decision to send Rocca followed some high-level diplomatic contacts. US Ambassador to India Robert Blackwill met Home Minister L.K. Advani earlier this week to express Washington's concerns.
Rocca will fly into rough weather when she arrives in India for a three-day visit that begins next Tuesday.
India will stress to Rocca that the subcontinent is not West Asia and that the US should not assume it can serve as the region's diplomatic broker.
Diplomatic observers do not believe war is imminent. For now, the threat of war is just being used as pressure tactic. But Western governments are concerned that tensions are rising at a time when both the BJP government and the Musharraf regime are politically weak.
"Neither side can afford to be generous," said a diplomat.
Some analysts have predicted BJP Govt. could take some irrational decisions to cover up on its failure in the Indian State of Gujrat where sectarian violence has taken more than 2000 lives in last two months.
Difficult to miss? Easy to not miss? Clear?
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