NEW DELHI, 29 May — India yesterday claimed diplomatic pressure on archrival Pakistan has failed and ruled out talks between the two hostile nations as shelling intensified across their common border in Kashmir. Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh told reporters here that comments by Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf during his televised address to his nation Monday were “disappointing and dangerous.”
“Disappointing, as it merely repeats some earlier assurances which remain unfulfilled till today, and dangerous because through belligerent posturing, tension has been added to, not reduced.” Jaswant, delivering his government’s first official response to Musharraf’s statement, also denounced what he said were nuclear threats by Pakistan, which earlier in the day test fired another ballistic missile, the third in four days, ignoring international calls for restraint.
“Let the world recognize that today the epicenter of international terrorism is located in Pakistan,” the foreign minister said. “Terrorists targeting not just India but other countries, too, receive support from state structures within Pakistan.”
In his address, Musharraf reiterated his pledge not to allow Pakistani soil to be used for terrorist activities, but at the same time also vowed continued “moral, diplomatic and political” support to activities in Kashmir — divided between the two South Asian nuclear rivals and at the heart of all their conflicts.
Jaswant ruled out any possibility of talks between Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on the sidelines of a regional conference in Almaty, Kazakhstan, between June 3-5. Both Vajpayee and Musharraf are expected to attend the conference called for confidence boosting among nations of the region. “Almaty is some distance away yet. Personally I don’t see the possibility of talks between Musharraf and Vajpayee,” Jaswant said.
In reply to another question, Jaswant reiterated that the atmosphere was not right to resume bilateral talks with Pakistan. “... We stand for dialogue. We are ready for dialogue. But you have to create an atmosphere for talks. You can’t put the pistol of terrorism on my temple with the finger on the trigger and ask me to talk,” the minister said.
