India will take a "wait and watch" approach to see what Pakistan will do next as U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld concluded his two-day south Asian trip Thursday, analysts in New Delhi said.
Indian Minister of State for External Affairs Omar Abdullah Thursday made it clear that there would be no de-escalation and resumption of dialogue with Pakistan till the cross-border terrorism was stopped completely.
"Pakistan has to translate its promises into action and it is imperative for Islamabad to end all kind of support to militant groups operating from its soil," he said.
He indicated that the de-escalation and the talks could take place "only after training camps in Pakistan are closed and the menace of cross border terrorism comes to an end."
On Wednesday, India conveyed to Rumsfeld its willingness to take more steps towards the reduction of military tension with Pakistan if Islamabad moved towards a comprehensive effort to end cross-border terrorism.
After an intensive round of consultations with the top layer ofthe political establishment, Rumsfeld, praised the steps taken by India as "useful" and "constructive" and explored the prospects for additional actions by India.
According to U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, Islamabad had communicated to Washington new commitments over the weekend that an end to infiltration across the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir would be permanent and that it "would be followed by other activities that had to do with the dismantling of the (training) camps."
If Pakistan does indeed implement these promises, India might agree to resume direct air and ground transportation links between the two countries and withdraw some Air Force units from forward locations, official sources said.
The U.S. is said to be keen on some Indian steps in relation tothe ground forces, which New Delhi had massed on its western frontiers since December 13 in its biggest military mobilization since Independence.
India apparently made it clear to Rumsfeld that there was no question of demobilizing its troops on the LoC until the elections in Jammu and Kashmir are held later this year.
But it is believed to have indicated a little more flexibility on the posture of its ground forces on the International Border (IB) with Pakistan in Rajasthan and Punjab.
New Delhi might be willing to pull back its strike forces from the IB if there is a visible movement in Pakistan towards dismantling the infrastructure of terrorism on its soil.
The Indian leaders also conveyed to Rumsfeld that the crucial test rests in Musharraf's willingness to let the elections in Jammu and Kashmir go off peacefully. If Musharraf passes this test,India might be prepared to resume a substantive political dialogue with Pakistan after the elections, official sources said.
Meanwhile, U.S. Defense Secretary Rumsfeld said after talks with Pakistani leaders Thursday in Islamabad that some progress had been made towards easing tensions between India and Pakistan.
Rumsfeld told a joint press conference with the Pakistani foreign minister that steps taken by the two sides in recent days "had contributed to the reduction of some of that tension, although the facts on the ground in large measure still remain in a state of a reasonably high alert."
Rumsfeld referred to India's decision to recall warships deployed off Pakistan's coast, end a ban on Pakistani overflights and name a new high commissioner to Islamabad.
But Pakistani Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar said that Islamabad saw no real reduction in the threat it feels from Indian troops massed on the borders.
Sattar said that President Pervez Musharraf had welcomed these steps, "however marginal." "But there is no change whatsoever in the capability of the Indian forces massed on our borders and the Line of Control. Therefore, there is no real reduction in the threat," he added.
Rumsfeld stressed, "The two countries need to talk to each other. They need to have diplomatic relations and ways of communicating to each other about issues like road, rail and air communication." He, however, said it was for the two countries to decide when to hold talks.
To a question on military de-escalation, Rumsfeld said, "We expect force reduction" but added that both India and Pakistan were "sovereign" countries and they would take decisions "as they should".
(Xinhua News Agency June 14, 2002)
