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Pakistani army officer briefs mediamen on the border.
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By
IOL South Asia correspondent
NEW
DELHI, October 1 (IslamOnline) - There are ominous signs in the air of
an imminent aggravation in the India-Pakistan standoff over Kashmir.
The
immediate provocation for the aggravation, from the Indian point of
view, is the terrorist attack on Akshardham temple in Gujarat’s
political capital Gandhinagar last week which killed 30 people.
According
to available information, the attackers did it to revenge Gujarat.
Ahmedabad,
Gujarat’s commercial capital, had witnessed sustained anti-Muslim
pogrom earlier this year.
The
pogrom, which had spread all over the state, claimed at least 2000 lives
(nearly all Muslims) and led to massive destruction of property, loot,
arson and rape of Muslim women. Nearly 100,000 survivors were forced
into relief camps.
In
an attempt to divert attention from the most apparent motive of the
attack, deputy prime minister LK Advani blamed last week’s temple
attack on Pakistan, which demanded proof.
Advani
said because Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf raised the issue of the
anti-Muslim carnage in Gujarat at the U.N., the temple attack must be a
handiwork of Pakistan.
Another
reason cited by Advani for his belief that Pakistan was behind the
attack was that Pakistan did not like peaceful elections in Kashmir, and
the terrorist attack was its way of making its feelings known.
President
Musharraf rejected the charge saying the terrorist attack could be
related to the killing of “thousands of Muslims” in Gujarat earlier
this year. A letter recovered from the pocket of one of the two slain
terrorists said they belonged to Tehrik-e-Qasas (movement for
retribution).
Unofficial
reports said the letter was about avenging the murder of innocent
Muslims in Gujarat pogrom. The official version of the letter’s
content is still awaited.
Over
the last week the borders have heated up once again. Fearing a
pre-emptive strike against Pakistan, President Musharraf warned India
Sunday, September 29, not to try to emulate the U.S. because Pakistan
was not Iraq.
Earlier
Pakistani leaders had said “India is not the U.S. and Pakistan is not
Afghanistan”.
Speaking
to police and intelligence officers in Delhi, Monday, September 30,
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee said that “Pakistan must be held
accountable for its continued sponsorship of terrorism in India.”
Two
days earlier, speaking to Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders and
workers Saturday, September 28, in Lucknow, the capital of the northern
state of Uttar Pradesh, Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani had said
Pakistan was impervious to the present Indian policy.
Advani
hinted at an “alternative strategy” against Pakistan.
Federal
Minister of State for Home ID Swamy said earlier in Jammu and Kashmir
capital Srinagar Thursday, September 26, “All options are still open
for us to tackle the growing menace of cross-border terrorism. Even war
comes in these options.”
Developments
over the last four days indicate a slide back towards Indo-Pak conflict.
Heavy exchange of artillery fire was reported Friday night in volatile
Kargil and Uri in Kashmir sector and Pooch and Rajouri in Jammu sector
along the Line of Control.
Pakistan’s
premier English daily The News reported Monday, that India was planning
pre-emptive strikes against Pakistan. It reported, quoting “a
high-placed official” that the “Indians are making ominous moves
through their army, navy and air force, which rung alarm bells here and
we are taking appropriate counter measures to be in a position to
neutralize any threat.”
The
official said the Indian army headquarters had ordered all personnel on
leave to report back to the frontline units along the borders with
Pakistan by October 1.
“More
ominously, attack aircraft that were withdrawn to the rear bases in June
are now moving back to forward operating bases,” the official said.
The
News also reported Indian ships and submarines moving closer to
approaches to the Pakistani waters. This, the official said, mirrored
“recent threat by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and deputy prime
minister LK Advani.”
Another
Pakistani official said India was trying to emulate U.S. unilateralism
vis-à-vis Iraq.
Meanwhile,
Indian finance minister Jaswant Singh told reporters in Washington
Sunday, September 29, that “pre-emption or prevention is inherent in
deterrence. The same thing is there in Article 51 of the UN Charter
which calls it the right of self-defense.”
Singh
said it was “the right of any nation to prevent injury to itself.
Every nation has the right. It is not the prerogative of any one
country”, he said. That keeps Pakistan guessing whether a pre-emptive
strike from India is in the offing.
