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| Wednesday, 05 March 2003 |
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Indian PM says U.S. too weak to influence Pakistan NEW DELHI, March 3 (Reuters) - India accused the United States of weakness on Monday for failing to convince Pakistan to stop its alleged support for Islamic militants in Kashmir. New Delhi says Islamabad continues to arm and send Islamic guerrillas across a ceasefire line into Indian Kashmir despite its assurances to Western nations, led by the United States, that it would halt such incursions. "If the United States cannot persuade Pakistan it shows the U.S.'s weakness," Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee told parliament. "We will keep this in mind when we evolve our strategies in the future," Vajpayee said. India, which controls 45 percent of the Himalayan region, accuses Pakistan of fomenting violence in Kashmir where more than 38,000 people have died in a bloody rebellion that started in late 1989. Pakistan, which controls about a third of the region, denies the charge but says it provides moral and diplomatic support to what it calls a Kashmiri freedom struggle. The nuclear neighbours were on the brink of war last year after India blamed Pakistan-based militants for an attack on its parliament in December 2001. They were pulled back by hectic U.S.-led diplomatic efforts and tensions eased after Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf pledged he would stop rebel incursions into disputed Kashmir. |
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