Introduction: Jaswant’s point: The wanted aren’t hiding in caves in Karachi
In the wake of worldwide approval to General Musharraf's speech last week, India has formulated a two-pronged strategy on dealing with Pakistan, which will separately address a return to the diplomatic normalisation with Islamabad as well as a military de-escalation from the border.
Highly placed sources here said that if the General agrees to “take action” on the list of the 20 most wanted terrorists and criminals submitted recently, New Delhi would be willing to reverse the diplomatic measures it has taken against Pakistan. That would include the return of India's High Commissioner Vijay Nambiar to Islamabad as well as a restoration of air and road links.
Further, if Musharraf provides visible action on controlling infiltration across the LoC and the border, the sources added, New Delhi would also take steps to demobilise from its current state of high alert on the border. US Secretary of State Colin Powell, in briefings with Prime Minister Vajpayee, Principal Secretary Brajesh Mishra and External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh, is said to have been given this message and told that India would be ready to revive the dialogue with Islamabad if it takes sustainable action on all these counts.
Singh, at a press conference with Powell this morning, sent a public message of this strategy. “The central thought the Prime Minister has shared with the Secretary of State is the earliest restoration of mutual confidence between the two countries. Once confidence is restored, everything else will fall into place,” he said.
Powell, meanwhile, urging a normalisation of the relationship, was forced to concede that New Delhi had a point. “Musharraf made an important speech, which was well received. But we have also said that we hope he will do more ... We will see (infiltration) stopping on the Line of Control, when we see it stopping on the Line of Control,” he added.
But the Secretary of State also laid down three areas where the US would like to reaction by New Delhi: tone down the rhetoric against Pakistan, allow Musharraf to save face with his own people by offering some relaxation of the diplomatic measures in place and, de-escalate on the border.
The international pressure seems to have convinced New Delhi to formulate its own strategy but the sources insisted that India would wait for Islamabad to act before it responds with any concrete gestures.
“Distinct movement will be made (with Islamabad) if there is action with regard to the twenty most wanted terrorists and criminals,” Singh said at the press conference, adding if that happened New Delhi would move to a situation that prevailed before December 13.
Pointing out that 14 of the 20 terrorists were Indian citizens, Singh, referring to Dawood Ibrahim in a voice loaded with sarcasm, said, “Everybody knows where they are in Pakistan. They are visible to the Pakistan establishment. They are certainly not hiding in the caves of Karachi.”
Powell also admitted that New Delhi
had given him the list of additional evidence on the terrorists that had
been given to Pakistan.