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Piqued by Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's curt order to India to "lay off" the Afghan crisis, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has declared he will not visit Islamabad in the foreseeable future.
Sections of the media quoted Vajpayee as simultaneously admonishing the United States for cosying up to Pakistan's military regime despite long-standing Indian allegations that Islamabad sponsors terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.
Vajpayee was reacting to Musharraf's nationally televised speech late Wednesday in which the Pakistan head of state expressed full support to the US as it prepared to launch military strikes on Afghanistan, even as he accused India of trying to sour Islamabad-Washington ties.
Musharraf claimed that he had been trying to mend fences with New Delhi, and accused the latter of meddling in the Afghan crisis. India, which enjoys close ties with the anti-Taliban and anti-Pakistan opposition Northern Alliance in Afghanistan, had offered military support to the US if it strikes Afghanistan in search of Saudi renegade Osama bin Laden.
The US considers bin Laden the prime suspect in the September 11 terrorist strikes in New York and Washington that killed thousands.
Vajpayee is quoted as saying that Musharraf's comments constituted a "serious setback to the Indian-Pakistan dialogue process." He ruled out any visit to Pakistan by him or by External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh "in the foreseeable future". Both had been expected to visit Pakistan this year.
In his first critical comments of the US since the terrorist strikes in New York and Washington, Vajpayee asked the US to look beyond Saudi renegade Osama bin Laden if it was sincere in combating global terrorism.
"It is for America to decide whether terrorism is a global phenomenon or whether it is restricted to just one individual. America alone can determine whether it will address the symptom of terrorism or the system of terrorism.
"Afghanistan is a symptom. America will have to look well beyond it. It will have to look at the sanctuaries provided to terrorists, at the training camps, at the arms and money flowing into the hands of terrorists if it wants to get rid of terrorism root and branch," the prime minister said.
Until now, Vajpayee commented, "no statement had emanated from Washington to suggest that the US, though appreciative of India's offer to support its war against terrorism, was in a mood to focus on India's bitter experience of terrorist activities on its soil."
Vajpayee hoped this would change once the US tackled the problem of Bin Laden.
Vajpayee said the US had "declared some Pakistan-based militant organisations as terrorist outfits. It reviews the list from time to time. Why it has not declared Pakistan a terrorist state is because it has not seen terrorism in this part of the world in a correct perspective."
In a strong criticism of General Pervez Musharraf, who seized power in October 1999 and who had visited India in July this year for the Agra Summit, Vajpayee said Musharraf was not bothered about terrorism despite his avowed support to the US again bin Laden.
"What concerns him is not terrorism. It is about Kashmir. How can he be concerned about terrorism? He has promoted it."
New Delhi accuses Pakistan of arming and training Muslim separatists fighting to end Indian rule over Jammu and Kashmir, whose ownership is disputed by Islamabad. Some of the terrorist groups in Kashmir have pledged support to Bin Laden.
Vajpayee's remarks follow growing criticism within his own Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as well as his ruling coalition of the manner India, in a reversal of its decades-old policy, offered logistic support to the US to fight Bin Laden even before Washington made any request.
On Tuesday, four BJP ministers criticised the Indian government's decision at a Cabinet meeting.
The prime minister, however, denied that his Cabinet colleagues were unhappy with his policy.
"Debates and discussions do take place (in the cabinet). But once we take a position, everyone falls in line," he said.
On Thursday, India rejected President Bush's comments that the battle against terrorism also provided an opportunity to "refashion" ties between Pakistan and India.
External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh emphasised that the "central issue confronting the world today is terrorism, and not bilateral issues between India and Pakistan.
"If Pakistan abjures violence, we can (refashion India-Pakistan ties) on our own. Indian foreign policy is not centred around Pakistan, while Pakistan's policies centre only around India.
"The U.S. is currently engaged in putting together as wide a coalition as possible in the shortest period of time against terrorism. This is not tantamount, in any fashion, to a third party role in bilateral relations between India and Pakistan," the External Affairs Minister said.
Indo-Asian News Service
The Attack on America: The Complete Coverage
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