Author:
Publication: The Telegraph
Date: February 3, 2002
India today expressed concern over
the disappearance of Taliban and al Qaida leaders after the US campaign
in Afghanistan as "a matter of immediate security concern", saying Delhi
would de-escalate troop mobilisation on the border only after getting "concrete
evidence" of decreasing cross-border terrorism.
"Where are the thousands of foreign
fighters and advisors of Taliban who were trapped in Kunduz in the final
phase of the military campaign, but found a providential and mysterious
aerial escape route?" national security advisor Brajesh Mishra asked while
addressing the 38th Munich conference on security policy.
Saying these are questions of long-term
relevance to the campaign against terrorism, Mishra said, "Anyone who looks
on the map of the region would understand why for India this a matter of
immediate security concern. This is also why India would like to see concrete
evidence of a diminution of terrorism from across its borders before it
acts on military de-escalation."
Though Mishra did not name Pakistan,
it was obvious he was referring to reports that Pakistan airlifted its
nationals fighting alongside the Taliban.
The Prime Minister's principal secretary,
who arrived here last evening, held bilateral meetings with Russian defence
minister Sergey Ivanov and Chinese vice foreign minister Wang Yi this morning.
He also held talks with German foreign minister Joschka Fischer in Frankfurt
yesterday during a brief halt en route to Munich.
In reference to Pakistan's claim
that it was supporting a freedom struggle in Kashmir, Mishra said: "Distinctions
are sometimes drawn between different acts of terrorism. In some mg we
are told, it is not really terrorism, but a freedom struggle. It is also
said that the battle against terrorism is really a battle for the hearts
and minds of the population which harbours the terrorists."
"These facile arguments defy logic.
They assert that Osama bin Laden's associates are freedom fighters when
they act in one country and terrorists when they act elsewhere. They imply
that freedom fighters can indiscriminately massacre civilians among the
population they are seeking to liberate, without losing their popular support,"
the security advisor said.
"They ignore the fact that it is
not popular support, but a fear psychosis created by violence that suppresses
the silent majority in these societies," Mishra noted.
"We in India saw this graphically
in the case of Punjab, where terrorists separatist forces struck in the
eighties, with generous support in the form of refuge, finances, arms and
training from a neighbouring country. Sustained tough action by our security
forces dealt with this," he added.
