The fact and fiction about India-Pakistan war talk

[Tornado]

The fact and fiction about India-Pakistan war talk

Rumour: Pakistan is building up troops along the Line of Control.


Fact: India has not observed any additional troop deployment. But yes there has been increased movement by the Pakistan Army and Rangers, a paramilitary force, deployed in their respective areas of responsibility.


Rumour: Pakistan has moved troops away from its Western border with Afghanistan to the East to threaten India.


Fact: No movement of Pakistani troops away from Afghanistan border other than routine.


Rumour: India is discreetly mobilising troops on the border with Pakistan.


Fact: Indian Army stays in cantonments and no mobilisation of troops is taking place.


Rumour: The Indian Army has replaced the Border Security Force along borders.


Fact: The Border Security Force is still guarding the borders.


Rumour: India’s service chiefs have been asked not to undertake foreign tours.


Fact: No such instruction by Government to chiefs.


Rumour: 'Unprecedented' talks were held between the Directors General of Military Operations of India and Pakistan on Saturday to defuse tension.


Fact: India denies such a conversation took place

 

[Al-zakir]

Pakistan urges "de-escalation" with India

Mon Dec 29, 2008 8:33am EST
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan and India should reduce tension inflamed by last month's militant attacks in Mumbai and resume a peace dialogue, Pakistani military chiefs told a visiting Chinese official on Monday.

India has blamed Pakistan-based militants for the assault on Mumbai in which 179 people were killed, reviving old hostilities between the nuclear-armed rivals and raising fears of conflict.

Indian and Pakistani military officials held an unscheduled hotline call on the weekend as China's Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei arrived in Pakistan to ease tension between the neighbors.

The Chinese minister met military chiefs and Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Monday.

The chairman of Pakistan's joint chiefs of staff committee, General Tariq Majid, reiterated Pakistan's commitment to regional peace and cooperation, the military said.

"(He) emphasized the need for avoidance of provocative belligerent posturing, initiation of reciprocal measures for immediate de-escalation and earliest resumption of the peace dialogue," the military quoted Majid as telling He.

India has put a "pause" on a five-year peace process.

Army chief General Ashfaq Kayani "highlighted the need to de-escalate and avoid conflict in the interest of peace and security," it said.

The South Asian neighbors both tested nuclear weapons in 1998. They have fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947 and came to the brink of a fourth after gunmen attacked the Indian parliament in December 2001.

Although most analysts say war is very unlikely, international unease is growing and the United States has urged both sides not to further raise tension.

Senior military officials from India and Pakistan held an unscheduled conversation on a hotline at the weekend, said a Pakistani security officer, who declined to be identified.

The two countries' directors general of military operations talk every Tuesday, but spoke at the weekend because of "the current situation," said the officer. He did not give details.

Pakistan has condemned the Mumbai attacks and has denied any state role, blaming "non-state actors."

India, the United States and Britain have blamed the attacks on Pakistan-based Islamist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), set up by Pakistani security agencies in the late 1980s to fight Indian rule in the disputed Kashmir region.

The group was banned in Pakistan in 2002.
Since the attacks, Pakistan has detained scores of militants, including several top leaders, and shut offices and frozen the assets of the Jamaat-ud-Dawa charity group, which the United Nations says is a front for the LeT.

India is demanding Pakistan dismantle what it calls the infrastructure of terrorism.

The Chinese minister expressed concern over the escalation of tension and emphasized the need for resolving issues through dialogue and cooperation, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said.

"Mr. He Yafei said that conflict was not the solution of the problem as it will only strengthen the hands of terrorists and extremists," it said.

He was due to travel to India later on Monday, a government official said.

As tension has increased, Pakistan has canceled army leave and shifted some troops from its western border with Afghanistan.

Pakistani military spokesmen have denied any build-up of troops on the eastern border with India, but a security official said some troops had been moved to that border.

Pakistani military officials have declined to say how many troops had been moved off the Afghan border, where 100,000 soldiers had been fighting al Qaeda and Taliban militants, saying only "limited numbers" were involved.

One military official, who declined to be identified, described as "absolute rubbish" a report that 20,000 soldiers had been withdrawn from the western border and moved east.

The movement of Pakistani troops off the Afghan border is likely to cause alarm in the United States, which does not want to see Pakistan distracted from the battle against militants.

Pakistan urges de-escalation with India | International | Reuters