- NEW YORK (Reuters)
- Indian Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha said on Sunday the United States
must do more to pressure Pakistan to stop cross-border attacks by Muslim
extremists and he rejected dialogue with Islamabad until the violence abates.
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- Days after President Bush urged the leaders of the two
South Asian nuclear rivals to directly address the root problems of their
dispute, Sinha said ensuring Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf adheres
to his promise to end cross-border attacks on India is "America's
problem."
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- As for U.S. calls for dialogue, reiterated by Bush in
meetings last week with Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari
Vajpayee at the United Nations, Sinha argued in an interview with Reuters
India is a "victim" of "cross border terrorism" and
Islamabad is "holding a gun to its head."
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- "I think that anyone who is saying that there should
be a dialogue is equating India and Pakistan at this point of time and
it's not fair to India because India is the victim of cross border terrorism,"
he said.
-
- "Any further progress toward dialogue or reconciliation
can take place only after the gun has been removed. Therefore to talk about
a dialogue when Pakistan is holding a gun to our head is neither practical
nor fair," added Sinha, in New York for the annual opening of the
U.N. General Assembly.
-
- On the eve of elections in Indian-ruled Kashmir that
have been marred by extensive violence, Sinha accused Pakistan of a "desperate"
bid to disrupt the polls but said India was determined to have them go
forward.
-
- "If your neighbor is sending all those terrorists
with the express purpose of disrupting the elections then more the reason
why we should go through with the electoral process to show our commitment
to democracy and our commitment to fight terrorism," he said.
-
- Indian Kashmiris begin voting for a new state assembly
Monday amid tight security and fears of Islamic separatist attacks after
a bloody campaign.
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- ELECTION VIOLENCE IN KASHMIR
-
- More than 440 people have been killed in pre-poll violence
in the disputed Himalayan region at the center of a military face-off between
India and Pakistan.
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- India wants a big turnout to boost its rule in the mainly
Hindu nation's only Muslim majority state. But many Kashmiris, frightened
by violence, say they will not vote.
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- Pakistan, a Muslim majority state, is a crucial ally
in the U.S. war against militant Islamic networks and Washington needs
its cooperation hunting down al Qaeda -- blamed for the Sept 11 attacks
-- and Taliban fighters on the Afghan-Pakistan border.
-
- Pakistan's value in this regard was shown dramatically
last week when Ramzi Binalshibh, a key al Qaeda member, was captured in
a gunbattle in Karachi on the anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade
Center and the Pentagon.
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- But while Pakistan is key in the U.S. anti-terrorism
war, Vajpayee told the U.N. last week Pakistan really is a state sponsor
of terrorism that has failed to honor vows to end militants' cross-border
attacks.
-
- "If Musharraf is not keeping his word it's an American
problem because it was to the Americans that he had given his word, and
I think nobody in America believes that he has kept his word," Sinha
said in the interview.
-
- The Americans have assured New Delhi "they have
put enough pressure (on Musharraf) but I can't say it produced 100 percent
results," the minister said.
-
- However, echoing Vajpayee's U.N. speech, Sinha stressed
that no one should doubt New Delhi's will or capacity to repel and "liquidate"
the infiltrators.
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- Sinha said in his meeting with Bush, Vajpayee complained
that infiltration continues, Pakistan's terrorist infrastructure has not
been dismantled and Musharraf "says one thing one day, another thing
another day."
-
- Critics say India has tried to exploit the anti-terrorism
war to bolster its case against Pakistan.
-
- On Iraq, Sinha said India supports the return of U.N.
inspectors to assess Baghdad's weapons of mass destruction programs, favors
having Iraq comply with U.N. resolutions and is encouraged that Washington
has decided to move on this issue diplomatically -- at least for now --
through the world body.
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