NEW DELHI/ISLAMABAD, 10 January — With its interior minister, Lal Krishna Advani, in the United States, India warned Pakistan of unspecified "strong measures" if it did not take convincing action against Islamic fighters.
Defense Minister George Fernandes said no time limit had been set for Islamabad to act on India’s demands to shut down Jaish-e-Muhammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba, the outfits blamed for the Dec. 13 attack on India’s parliament.
"But whatever steps we are taking are a clear indication that if the problem is not solved amicably, we shall be forced to take strong measures," he said in an interview to be broadcast on the Aaj Tak television channel. He also suggested that Washington was going soft in its war on terrorism.
"When (the) global coalition against terrorism was formed, it was our expectation that...it will continue as a struggle, but we see that when their purpose was served, the expectation that we had was not met," Fernandes said.
But Jaish-e-Muhammad threatened fresh assaults against Indian navy and air force targets. Jaish, which is fighting to drive India out of the disputed state of Kashmir, also insisted it was not a proxy for Pakistan.
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, huddling with his generals and political advisers, is preparing for his biggest speech since he joined the US-led war against his former Taleban allies in Afghanistan. Senior Pakistani government officials said Musharraf and his military advisers were drafting the speech, which could be delivered at the weekend.
The United States, keen to keep the focus on the hunt for Bin Laden, is working hard to defuse the crisis. "We look forward to hearing from President Musharraf in that speech on the course that he believes the nation should follow," a State Department spokesman said Tuesday. The Indian Army said it fired on but missed an unmanned Pakistani spy plane over Indian Kashmir. Pakistani officials said they were checking the report.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell will visit South Asia, beginning Jan. 21. "Secretary Powell will meet with leaders of both India and Pakistan and urge a reduction of tension," said State Department spokesman Richard Boucher.
