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Musharraf to be judged by level of infiltration: Advani

T V Parasuram in Washington

A halt to infiltration of terrorists into Jammu and Kashmir and ending their training will be the "litmus test" by which India will judge whether Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has abandoned the use of terrorism as an instrument of state policy, according to Home Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani.

Advani said he cannot judge whether Pakistan has stopped training, arming and financing terrorists. "But we can certainly see whether infiltration has stopped or not. That would be perceived, of course, over a period of time, not immediately," Advani said in an interview to Newsweek magazine.

However, he said these "two things are the litmus test by which we will judge whether he has abandoned the use of terrorism as an instrument of state policy".

Advani, who was in the United States recently, said he had no objection when asked if India was agreeable to Musharraf handing over underworld don Dawood Ibrahim to the US for trial.

"I have no objection. But, I do not think he would agree to that," Advani said. The home minister added that during the Agra summit last year, Musharraf had told him that Ibrahim was not in Pakistan.

He also recounted a Pakistani high commission official telling him that "Musharraf was very upset when you made him speak a blatant untruth in the presence of all his officers".

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