India considers itself "at war" with Pakistan over Kashmir, although there is no formal declaration of hostilities, deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani said here.
"When people ask me, 'Will there be a war between India and Pakistan?' they are obviously referring to a declared war like that which happened in 1971 or 1965. But for India, we are at war." he told Britain's Channel Four television.
He said there was no point in resuming talks with Pakistan until cross-border terrorism was put to an end. Mr Advani, who is on a three-day visit to the UK. Said cross-border terrorism "is still considerable, although there has been some reduction in infiltration because of international pressure on Pakistan.
"However, infiltration is only one aspect of cross-border terrorism. There are other components of cross-border terrorism-training of terrorists, financing them, providing arms to them and letting terrorist camps continue to function on Pakistani soil." Mr Advani also observed that Pakistan had been under "great pressure", both internationally and internally "Having promoted fundamentalism to harass India, it is facing harassment itself to some extent," he said.
Mr Advani accused Pakistan of sabotaging the forthcoming elections in Jammu and Kashmir have rapine an atmosphere of fear in the state, but affirmed that the elections would be held on schedule and would be fully free and fair.
Earlier, informed sources told this paper that Mr Advani had underscored the need for bilateral cooperation in the war on terrorism during a luncheon meeting with British home secretary David Blunkett. "We can only help each other if we work together," Indian sources quoted Mr Advani as saying. A spokeswoman for Mr Blunkett's ministry refused to confirm the agenda of a meeting.
But Indian sources close to Mr Advani
said that his main focus during meetings with his British counterpart.
John Prescott, Mr Blunkett and foreign secretary Jack Straw was that "Britain
is obligated to do what it said it would' under the terms of the New Delhi
Declaration signed in January.