Musharraf talks down chance of nuclear war

The Sunday Telegraph (U.K.) ^ | 06/02/2002 | Philip Sherwell and Julian West

[Pokey78]

In an attempt to ease mounting anxiety over the prospect of a nuclear war with India, Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf said yesterday that only a "madman" would consider launching such a conflict.

As the American government put pressure on the nuclear rivals to find a diplomatic solution to the increasingly tense stand-off over Kashmir, President Musharraf appeared keen to allay fears that either side would resort to nuclear weapons.

"I don't think that either side is so irresponsible as to go to that limit," he said in a television interview.

"I would even go to the extent of saying that one shouldn't even be discussing these things, because any sane individual cannot even think of going into this unconventional war, whatever the pressures."

India's immediate response to Gen Musharraf's more moderate tone was unclear, though Delhi is likely to emphasise that he was tailoring his message to a Western television audience rather than Pakistanis at home.

Privately, Indian officials and army officers acknowledged that the president, who has to contend with hardliners in his own country, had the look of a man with his back against the wall.

"He's had enormous pressure put on him by America and Britain and by us," said an army officer. "The more hardline he is, the more likely he is to be doing something."

Concern was still mounting over a broader military conflict, however, as both sides traded mortar rounds and allegations of spying, and resisted calls to find a diplomatic solution to their long and deadly dispute.

At least seven civilians were killed in militant and cross-border attacks yesterday and Belgium, France and Japan joined Britain, America and Germany in urging their citizens to leave the region. The United Nations went ahead with preparations to evacuate families of its staff from Pakistan.

A million troops are facing each other across the India-Pakistan border, where the opposing armies have kept up a barrage of mortar and machinegun fire that has left dozens dead and displaced thousands of villagers over the past fortnight.

"There is still no rapprochement in sight," said George Fernandes, the Indian defence minister, who was attending a conference on security in Singapore. Asked if military officials of India and Pakistan might meet for talks, he said: "I don't think there is any such possibility."

India has already said that it would not be the first to launch a nuclear strike. In what appeared to be a conciliatory gesture, Gen Musharraf went further, declaring: "We've called for a no-war pact [with India], that there shouldn't be any war."

In a further nod to India's government and to world leaders, Gen Musharraf said that Pakistan "will fight militancy in any form".

"There has to be some movement forward," he said. "And the movement forward is certainly the issue of initiating the process of dialogue and squarely addressing the dispute of Kashmir."

President Musharraf, however, angered India by describing Kashmiri separatists as being engaged in "a genuine freedom struggle" for self-determination. For the past 12 years, India has been fighting a revolt against its rule in Jammu and Kashmir state in which tens of thousands of people have died.

[Fish out of Water]

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