POLITICS: India Hardens Stance Ahead of Powell ‘s Peace Mission

By Ranjit Devraj Reprint | | Print |

Ranjit Devraj

NEW DELHI, Jan 16 2002 (IPS) - India hardened its warlike stance ahead of the arrival here Thursday of U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, on the second leg of a peace mission to defuse a military standoff between this country and neighbouring Pakistan.

India’s newly appointed naval chief Madhvendra Singh told reporters Wednesday, at what appeared to be a carefully planned press conference, that his fleet stood ready to retaliate in case of a nuclear strike by Pakistan.

“Any country that espouses the doctrine of no first use of nuclear weapons (as India does) must have second strike capability. We have a triad of weapons for a second strike and one of the triads is at sea,” the admiral said.

Singh indicated that the Indian navy would not be obstructed or deterred in its operations by the massive U. S. naval presence in the Arabian Sea, though it would “slightly complicate matters”.

“It is a large ocean. There is room for everyone. We have as much right to operate (in it) as anybody and we intend to do. It is customary that if there is belligerence between two countries, the party that is not involved stays away,” the admiral said.

Singh’s tone matched that of India’s army chief Sunderajan Padmanabhan who, last week, challenged Pakistan President Gen Pervez Musharraf to launch a nuclear first strike a day before the latter was to make a televised address renouncing support for terrorist groups.

Padmanabhan had ordered the bulk of India’s active one million troops to deploy along the 3,000 km border with Pakistan, supported by tanks, artillery and missile batteries.

In his Jan. 12 speech, Musharraf condemned sectarian violence in his country and won international praise by banning scores of ‘jihadist’ groups, including the Lashkar-e-Toiba (Soldiers of God) and the Jaish-e-Mohammed (Army of Mohammed), and arrested more than 200 cadres and their leaders.

The two groups were blamed by India for an attempt to blow up the Indian Parliament on Dec. 13 with a car bomb by a heavily armed, five-man suicide squad who were shot down by police before they could enter the building. That attack sent already tense ties between India and Pakistan plunging to a new low, and sent two countries on the brink of a military – some fear nuclear – conflict.

India’s prime minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, said the attack, in which 14 persons died, was the last straw in “Pakistan’s proxy war” against India. His Cabinet called for military mobilisation and sanctions against its neighbour, including a ban on overflights.

New Delhi refused to heed advice from Powell and from British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who was here on a visit following the Dec. 13 attack, to stand down while the war in Afghanistan by a U.S.-led coalition, which depends heavily on Pakistani facilities, was in progress.

Instead, the Indian government mounted a massive diplomatic exercise that saw Interior Minister Lal Krishna Advani and Defence Minister George Fernandes heading for Washington, this month, to convince U.S. security officials that it was as important to contain ‘jihadism’ in Pakistan as in Afghanistan.

India has made it clear that there must be proof of cessation of “cross-border terrorism sponsored by Pakistan”, especially affecting the disputed territory of Kashmir, before it would consider pulling its troops back from the border.

It has also said repeatedly that it was not satisfied with Musharraf’s speech or the crackdown on ‘jihadist’ groups, although some observers note that Pakistan’s moves are a radical change from past policies.

On the eve of Powell’s visit, Advani, newly returned from Washington, said Musharraf’s speech may be good from Pakistan’s “internal perspective”, but that as far as he was concerned that country would have to “cease to be an exporter of terrorism”.

India has refused to accept international mediation to resolve the dispute over Kashmir and Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh said that if and when dialogue is resumed, it would be on the basis of the 1972 Shimla Agreement that committed the two countries to bilateral settlement.

But Musharraf has repeatedly called for international involvement and welcomed the proposed appointment of a special envoy – Colin Powell took on the job himself — to help ease India-Pakistan tensions.

To emphasise India’s position, India’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Nirupama Rao said Wednesday that “the Indian Constitution provides adequate space to address all issues pertaining to Jammu and Kashmir”.