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Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Friday said India would not take any steps to increase tension with Pakistan, but warned Islamabad that New Delhi was prepared to face any challenges from across the border.
"The movement of troops along the border should not be misunderstood as a signal of war. From our side, we will not take any such step. But at the same time we will prevent violation of our border and face the challenge of terrorism," Vajpayee told the Bharatiya Janata Party's National Executive in Amritsar.
Justifying his decision not to meet Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly this month, Vajpayee said it would be a futile exercise in the present circumstances.
"Talks should not be for the sake of talks but should ensure results... I don't see any possibility of that," Vajpayee said.
Pakistan should stop sponsoring cross-border terrorism and infiltration, he added.
Pointing out terrorist activities and infiltration have increased along the borders, he said restraint cannot be one-sided and Islamabad should stop cross-border terrorism and its rhetoric on Kashmir.
Vajpayee asserted Jammu and Kashmir was an inalienable part of India.
On Musharraf's insistence on picking up the threads of Indo-Pak dialogue from Agra, he said "Why not Lahore, why not Simla. Aren't you (Pakistan) bound by the two agreements?"
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