Musharraf warns India on crossing LoC

Musharraf warns India on crossing LoC
KAMAL SIDDIQI

ISLAMABAD, JANUARY 23: Tension continued to escalate between India and Pakistan, with Pakistan threatening to teach India a lesson on Sunday as the two countries clashed in the troubled Kashmir region and exchanged allegations over various issues.

Pakistan's military leader General Pervez Musharraf vowed on Sunday to ``teach India a lesson'' if its troops cross the disputed border in Kashmir. ``We will teach them a lesson,'' he told The Nation newspaper in Lahore, as part of an interview.

The warning followed a serious clash between the two armies in the Chamb sector on the Line of Control (LoC) that divides Kashmir between Pakistan and India.

Pakistan said its troops repelled an Indian attack on Saturday on its military post in Chamb, inflicting casualties. It said two Pakistani soldiers were killed and five were missing.

New Delhi said 17 Pakistanis and two Indian soldiers died in the clash, the worst since the rival armies fought fierce battles in Kashmir last year.``Indians are not refraining fromcrossing the LoC out of any love for Pakistan. They would have done it long before if they could. We will teach them a lesson on the LoC or anywhere else,'' Musharraf said.

Meanwhile, diplomatic sources suggest that Pakistan's military government seems to be under immense Western pressure on the issues of religious extremism and terrorism.

During the visits paid by American and British officials to Islamabad over the last fortnight, the issue of religious extremism and terrorism topped the agenda of talks between these visitors and the Pakistani officials.

``Among the key issues were the need for cooperation to reduce the threat of terrorism for regional stability and a road map for a return to democratic civil rule in Pakistan,'' US Assistant Secretary of State, Karl Inderfurth said in his statement at the conclusion of his talks with the Pakistani officials.

He said that the threat of terrorism ``stems from this region and threatens the US and Pakistan and also the region and the world.''

Afour-member US Senate delegation, which visited Pakistan last week under the leadership of minority leader in the US Senate, Tom Dashcle, raised similar issues.

``We addressed the threats of terrorism and militant religious fundamentalism, both within Pakistan and internationally,'' the delegation said in their concluding statement, released by the US Embassy in Islamabad.The visit by Senator Dashle's delegation was followed by another by Senator Sam Brownback, who also addressed the issue of terrorism and said that the Pakistani leaders were in complete agreement with him on this issue.

Talking to Brownback, Pakistan foreign minister Abdul Sattar said that his county was opposed to terrorism and assured full cooperation with America in this connection. On January 11, the Pakistan foreign ministry issued a statement saying that Pakistan was opposed to terrorism in all forms and will not allow the misuse of its territory for acts of terrorism.