Author: Mahendra Ved
Publication: The Times of India
Date: May 30, 2002
India's case against Pakistan received
a boost on Wednesday when visiting British foreign secretary Jack Straw
declared that Gen Pervez Musharraf's assurances on stopping cross-border
terrorism had to be matched by action on the ground.
"The UK stands foursquare behind
India in its fight against terrorism. We back India comprehensively in
its fight against terrorism," Mr Straw told media-persons after his meeting
with external affairs minister Jaswant Singh. Implicitly rejecting Gen
Musharraf's claim that the violence in Kashmir was a "freedom struggle",
Mr Straw said that Britain was against all terrorism, including "terrorism
that is dressed up as freedom struggle".
Mr Straw, who also met home minister
L.K. Advani, said Gen Musharraf must ensure that the Line of Control (LoC)
with India was effectively sealed and that there was no infiltration from
his side.
"I began my conversation with Mr
Advani by reiterating the British government's unambiguous views against
terrorism in all its forms, including cross-border terrorism and the terrorism
that is dressed up as freedom struggle," he said. About his meeting with
Gen Musharraf on Tuesday, he said, "I believe Gen Musharraf is serious
about controlling terrorism. The test of any statement of a country or
a leader of a country should be measurement of the action on the ground."
Diplomatic circles noted that Mr
Straw spoke a language identical to the one he used in Islamabad, leaving
no ambiguity about where his government stood on the ongoing crisis.
During his daylong parleys with
the Indian leadership, he met PM Atal Behari Vaj-payee, defence minister
George Fernandes, national security adviser to the PM Brajesh Mishra and
leader of the opposition Sonia Gandhi.
