NEW DELHI, 4 November — The government yesterday welcomed the reported ban by the US government of the hard-line Kashmiri group Lashkar-e-Taiba.
Earlier, one more Kashmiri separatist group Jaish-e-Muhammad had been designated by the US as "foreign terrorist organizations."
India views designation of these organizations as "terrorist" as "rebuttal" of Pakistan’s claim that they should be viewed as "freedom fighters," a government statement said.
"We have been advocating that the fight against international terrorism cannot be compartmentalized into local or regional terrorism. Terrorism is a global menace," External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India. "I am glad that the US Justice Department has now found it necessary to ban the organization," he added.
The New York Times reported yesterday that Washington is expected next week to announce yet another list of individuals and groups whose assets are subject to seizure.
India has been lobbying hard for the United States to ban all the Kashmiri groups that have been waging an armed campaign in the Himalayan territory.
Jaswant said he hoped US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld would share details of the ground situation in Afghanistan during his visit to New Delhi today.
The United States has taken this decision to convince New Delhi that its "war against terrorism" is not confined to Afghanistan only. experts feel the move has greater diplomatic importance than obvious. The US has sought to "please" India on this front, so that it does not make too much of noise against Pakistan’s role in spreading "terrorism."
On its part, India has tacitly accepted that its argument against terrorism sponsored by Pakistan in Kashmir is not likely to elicit any major diplomatic gains in the near future. This in itself demands a change in its strategy.
However, India cannot be expected to adopt a new stance without at least a tangible "victory" in sight. From this angle, "ban" on Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Muhammad may be viewed as a diplomatic "carrot" handed out by the US.
At the same time experts say that the decision should not be viewed as a move against Pakistan. Rather, it is a diplomatic strategy exercised by the US to bring India and Pakistan to the negotiating table.
Though no agenda has been set for the forthcoming meeting between President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, the issue of Kashmir and Pakistan’s role is bound to figure in their talks.
The ban also indicates US’ reaction to the "propaganda war" launched by Indian Army officials about the possibility of a war against Pakistan.
Over the past few days, army officials claimed that Pakistan was lining its troops along the international border and that India was ready to face any "challenge" from Pakistan.
Meanwhile, the Union Cabinet met late yesterday to review the security situation in the country on the eve of the departure of Vajpayee to Russia, the United States and Britain. Jaswant said the prime minister had issued clear cut instructions on security measures during his 10-day absence.
