Author: PTI
Publication: Yahoo News
Date: September 13, 2002
URL: http://in.news.yahoo.com/020913/20/1v6f8.html
Rejecting Pakistan's description
of terrorist violence in Jammu and Kashmir as freedom struggle, President
George W Bush today said the US would use its "leverage" with Pakistan
to desist from incursions and cross-border terrorism to ensure peaceful
conduct of assembly polls in the state.
During his 35-minute meeting with
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee here, Bush said the US "is wholly conscious
of the need to continue put pressure on Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf
to desist from recourse to incursions across the LoC and violence especially
during the elections in Jammu and Kashmir."
A similar assurance was given by
U S National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice to her Indian counterpart
Brajesh Mishra at a separate luncheon meeting.
Briefing reporters on Vajpayee-Bush
meeting, Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal said "that message came through
very clearly and we did not really need to make a case. The events which
have taken place in the last 2-3 days speak for themselves."
He said it was the U S side which
took the initiative to express concern about the happenings in J and K.
On the issue of resumption of Indo-Pak
talks, Mishra told Rice that it was not possible untill cross-border terrorism
was fully eliminated.
Sibal said Bush "very clearly and
unambiguously said the US does not not accept any justification for terrorism
and rejected the excuse that some give for it in the garb of freedom struggle
to make a distinction," according to Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal.
Sibal told reporters that Bush said
if it was was freedom struggle, then they (terrorists) should abide by
the tenets of freedom struggle.
Bush took the initiative to express
concern over the killings in Jammu and Kashmir especially of candidates
in Jammu and Kashmir.
During the meeting the situation
in Afghanistan and Iraq came up for discussions.
Bush explained that his speech at
the UN General assembly should not be taken as a declaration of military
action against Iraq and made it clear that it was more in the nature of
stating what the problem was and the need to deal with it.
The Bush-Vajpayee meeting was followed
by a 90-minute meeting between Mishra and Condoleezza Rice where the matters
discussed between the two leaders were deliberated at length.
Among other issues, they discussed
the common interest of India and the US with regard to economic reconstruction
of war-ravaged Afghanistan.
India proposed that the two countries
can provide their expertise in space technology and in dealing with issues
like watershed management and mapping of resources.
Mishra and Rice also discussed Iran
and exchanged views on internal developments there in the light of reformist
trends.
Rice told Mishra as the President
did to Vajpayee that the United States is wholly conscious of the need
to continue to put pressure on Musharraf to desist from recourse to incursions
across the Line of Control and violence especially during the run-up to
the polls in Jammu and Kashmir.
"That message", Sibal said "came
through very quite clearly and we did not really need to make a case. The
events which have taken place in the last two-three days speak for themselves.
It was the US side which took the initiative to convey their concern about
what was happening."
The focus of talks between Vajpayee
and Bush was on bilateral ties particularly in the areas of countering
terrorism and defence cooperation.
Both reaffirmed their commitment
to continue the process of qualitatively transforming ties between the
two countries taking full advantage of the change in international environment.
Mishra and Rice emphasised deepening
of bilateral dialogue and strengthening of the new strategic framework
of relations.
To that end they agreed to explore
possibilities of expanding cooperation in space, diverse forms of energy
and high technology, commerce and science.
Those present at the Bush-Vajpayee
meeting from the US side included Secretary of State Colin Powell, Assistant
Secretary of State Christina Rocca and Rice.
The Indian team included External
Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha, Mishra and Sibal.
