KARACHI, 30 December — President Pervez Musharraf, anxious to create national consensus, has invited politicians from various parties in Islamabad tomorrow to inform them about the rapidly deteriorating situation on the borders, and seek their help in mobilizing the nation behind him.
He took this decision after security was tightened further in border areas, and civil defense was put on high alert in cities for emergencies. The government believes that the nation should be asked to prepare itself for any eventuality, although insiders reported that intelligence reports continue to be skeptical about a full-scale war between India and Pakistan.
There are very cogent reasons for it. The intelligence agencies believe that Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee himself was not in favor of a military conflict, and, secondly, the Pakistan government’s decision to initiate administrative action against militant organizations like Jaish-e-Muhammad, and Lashkar-e-Taiba, will help strengthen the hands of the Indian premier against known hawks like Home Minister L.K. Advani, and, thirdly, the Pakistani president himself looks very relaxed and comfortable which is evident from his five-day stay in China.
Yet another argument being advanced by these sources is the worrisome internal security situation in India and Pakistan’s potential for conventional and nuclear response which have watered down the sentiments in a section of Indian security apparatus that was initially advocating limited military strikes against Pakistan.
The News daily newspaper has also reported that Pakistan has assured the international community of its resolve to fight religious militancy at home. "It is a good sign that Prime Minister Vajpayee and the Indian services chiefs are counting the pitfalls of war in their closed-door meetings," informed a senior Pakistani military security official.
"We have fairly credible information that the Indian prime minister has ruled out a war with Pakistan."
