LAHORE, 18 December 2002 — Minister of Foreign Affairs Khursheed Kasuri said India’s ‘coercive diplomacy’ and the repeated threats of war against Pakistan has failed. “Even the Indian media and the opposition have questioned the government on the expenditure of 80 billion rupees to deploy troops on Pakistan borders,” he said yesterday.
Kasuri, while emphasizing that Pakistan wanted peace for development and stability of the subcontinent, said: “We have confidence in our defense forces and will retaliate against any Indian aggression with full force.”
The minister expressed disappointment at the Indian refusal to attend the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit scheduled in Islamabad in January. “We had to cancel it due to India’s attitude and following Prime Minister (Atal Behari) Vajpayee refusal to confirm his participation,” he said.
“After the formation of an elected civilian democratic government in Pakistan, it was expected that India would change its policy and resume talks with Islamabad for the resolution of outstanding disputes and conflicts,” he said.
“But till now, Islamabad has not received any positive gesture from New Delhi. We will not compromise on our national sovereignty, integrity and national pride,” he asserted. The minister said peace could not be achieved without a solution to the Kashmir issue. “The accepted world opinion is that self-determination movements cannot be suppressed by brutal force,” he said. “How can the dispute be resolved or acceptable to Kashmiris without them being taken into confidence,” he asked, adding, “The ultimate choice is tripartite dialogue on the issue.”
Asked if Pakistan was taking more steps to satisfy India, the minister said: “The world community should also take note of the gravity of the situation that two nuclear powers had mobilized one million troops to forward positions in peace time. The world should force India to seek a peaceful and fair solution to the Kashmir issue.”
Regarding India’s charges of alleged cross-border terrorism, he said the accusations were a hurdle that has scuttled dialogue. “The Indian Army chief has repeatedly said that the incidents of terror had lessened in the Indian-administered Kashmir by 54 percent. Pakistan believes in dialogue and does not sponsor any militant group,” Kasuri said.
He said that India was using this as an excuse to avoid dialogue as it suits the ruling BJP regime for electoral purposes. “The enlightened Indian public opinion has also endorsed the views that the BJP government does not want dialogue with Pakistan at all,” he said.
On Monday, President Gen. Pervez Musharraf had said that India’s attempts to coerce Pakistan had been thwarted by the resolve, professional competence and above all unswerving faith in the country’s defense forces. “By the grace of Almighty Allah, Pakistan Armed Force has proved once again that they were a superb and coordinated fighting outfit fully capable of defending the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Pakistan,” said Musharraf in his address to a meeting of the Corps Commanders held here at the General Headquarters (GHQ).
He was presiding over the meeting, which extensively reviewed the process of de-escalation. Musharraf, who is also chief of army staff, reviewed the process of de-escalation, appreciating the efficiency and smoothness with which Pakistan Armed Forces had accomplished the task assigned to it. He said during the recent escalation along the Line of Control (LoC), working boundary and international borders, Indian attempts to coerce and pressurize Pakistan were thwarted by the resolve, professional competence and above all unswerving faith in the country’s defense forces.
“Pakistan wants all outstanding disputes be resolved, including the core issue of Kashmir, through a meaningful dialogue between both Pakistan and India and regretted Indian obstinacy to restart the dialogue process,” Musharraf said.
