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| War still an option: Indian army chief |
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Thursday, January 15, 2009
Says Pakistan deployed troops on border; Mukherjee accuses Islamabad of evasiveness
NEW DELHI: Pakistan has deployed additional troops along the border with India since the Mumbai attacks, but India has not responded in a similar manner, the Indian army chief said on Wednesday.
“The aspect of some (Pakistani) troops coming towards the east ... we are aware. That has happened,” General Deepak Kapoor told reporters. “They have come to the eastern border of Pakistan with India.”
Pakistan’s military has denied any build-up of forces on the Indian border and said it moved a “limited number” of soldiers off the Afghan border “for defensive measures” as tensions rose with India after the Mumbai attacks.
Kapoor said India had kept all options open, including the option of fighting in the wake of Mumbai attacks but there was no need to create hysteria. “There is a larger amount of tension after 26/11. Because we feel that the perpetrators of 26/11 came from Pakistan. In view of that, we in India are keeping all options open,” he said. The options were “diplomatic, economic, or as a last resort, a fighting option,” he said, adding, there was “no need to create any kind of hysteria”
Referring to the use of military option as a last resort, Gen Kapoor said it depended on the political leadership to decide. “Our political leadership has said war is not an option. But all options are open. The situation remains at that stage,” he said.
A senior Indian official also confirmed on Wednesday “some” troops movement on the Pakistan side, but added New Delhi had been careful not to respond in a similar fashion. Kapoor said though India was not provoked and would not indulge in whipping up war hysteria, its armed forces were in a state of full preparedness.
“Let me assure you the Indian army has factored this part in its planning, if at any time, any operations have to be undertaken,” he said. “That is not something which is a cause of concern for us.”(That) we in India are keeping all our options open must be clearly understood. It is not to raise any kind of hysteria for any kind of war, fight or anything.”
Meanwhile, Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday again accused Pakistan of “evasiveness” in response to the Mumbai terror attacks. In his statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs, Mukherjee demanded Pakistan to fully implement its international obligations under various legal instruments on terrorism.
The statement said there is a continuing pattern of evasiveness and denial in Pakistan’s response to the terrorist attack on Mumbai. “We have asked their government to undertake investigations in Pakistan and to share the results with us so as to bring the perpetrators to justice.”
Also, the US State Department said the two nations had so far managed to control tensions over the Mumbai attacks, despite the deployment of troops to their common border. “We would like to see more exchange of information about the Mumbai attacks, so that you can get to the bottom of exactly who was responsible,” State Department spokesman Sean McCormack added.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
