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India puts on hold de-escalatory measures

Angered by Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's recent summersault on his assurances to end cross-border infiltration and dismantle terrorist camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, India has put on hold further de-escalatory measures.

According to sources, India would "wait and watch" Musharraf's further actions and "not rely completely on assurances through third parties". So, for any noticeable change in India's stance, it would look for hard evidence on the ground.

New Delhi had initiated some de-escalatory measures after the United States conveyed to India the Pakistani dictator's promise to clamp down on terrorists.

Among the steps taken were the lifting of ban on Pakistani aircraft flying over Indian airspace, withdrawal of battleships and military relaxation in terms of granting leaves to soldiers.

India was also planning to offer landing permission to Pakistan International Airlines, re-deploy the strike corps to defensive positions and withdraw air force jets from forward bases along the Pakistan border.

However, Musharraf's last week's interview to Newsweek, wherein he denied making any assurance to close down terrorist camps in PoK and end cross-border infiltration forever, came as a bolt from the blue for India.

India brought the interview to the attention of the US "through high-level diplomatic contacts", a senior external affairs ministry official said. The US embassy in New Delhi promptly issued a statement reiterating that the Pakistani president had indeed given such an assurance to Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage.

The decision to maintain status quo was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security on Wednesday. Defence Minister George Fernandes was quoted as saying that there would be no further "partial withdrawal" or "relocation" of ground troops.

Fernandes said the CCS "has decided that the troops will stay on the borders till October [when Jammu and Kashmir goes to polls]. There will be no scaling down of the preparedness."

India is now waiting to see how the US and United Kingdom, who have coordinated their efforts at ending the crisis, react. Two dignitaries from Britain, Defence secretary Geoff Hoon and Sir David Manning, a key advisor to Prime Minister Tony Blair, would soon arrive in India.

Terrorism Strikes in Jammu and Kashmir: The complete coverage

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