President Bush and Relations with India
President Bush and Relations with India
Bush also spoke with Vajpayee and said the United States is ``determined to cooperate with India in the fight against terrorism,'' McClellan said. Bush urged both leaders to work to reduce tensions.
Pakistani police say they have arrested at least 30 militants since the Dec. 13 attack by gunmen on India's Parliament that sparked the current crisis between the South Asian rivals. On Friday, Bush had praised Musharraf for the arrests and said India should ``take note'' of the crackdown.
India has dismissed Pakistan's steps as cosmetic and on Saturday demanded tougher action. Pakistan has said it needs proof for India's claims that two Islamic militant groups based on its soil conducted the Parliament attack, which killed nine Indians and the five attackers. India claims Pakistan's spy agency sponsored the attack, an accusation Islamabad denies.
The dozen or so Islamic militant groups based in Pakistan that are battling Indian rule in Kashmir (news - web sites) enjoy support among a vocal sector of the public and within segments of the military, making it difficult for Musharraf to carry out a crackdown.
Indian National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra said Saturday that India will not pull troops from the border until Pakistan takes ``credible, firm, substantive and visible action'' against militants operating in Kashmir.
Vajpayee insisted ``no means shall be spared'' in putting a stop to what he called ``Pakistan-sponsored terrorism.''
``We do not want war, but a war in the form of cross-border terrorism has already been thrust of India,'' Vajpayee told senior officials of his Bharatiya Janata Party. ``We shall do our utmost to avoid war with Pakistan.''
Indian and Pakistani soldiers - only 100 yards apart in some places - traded fire Saturday over the ``Line of Control'' dividing the disputed Kashmir region, as civilians on both sides of the border were evacuated. India says 20,000 civilians are being moved from homes near the Kashmir frontier.
``The possibility of a small action could trigger a chain of action and reaction that neither side desires. The propensity for such an outcome is very, very high,'' Pakistani Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar said in Islamabad.
Musharraf on Friday offered to meet Vajpayee on the sidelines of a Jan. 4-6 gathering of South Asian leaders both are attending in Nepal's capital, Katmandu.