India puts Pak on 2-month notice

Hindustan Times ^ | Friday, May 24, 2002 | Arun Joshi and Jay Raina

[aculeus]

At a meeting of the Unified Headquarters (UHQ) chaired by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Srinagar it was decided that India could give Pakistan about two months to roll back cross-border terrorism ahead of the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir.

Sources said a decision to begin a war against Pakistan would depend on how it acted in the next two months. If Pakistan did not try to disrupt the elections in the state the war option would be closed.

Later, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) endorsed the decision to give Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf more time to implement his promise of putting an end to the infiltration of terrorists into Jammu and Kashmir. But before that, National Security Advisor Brajesh Mishra had spoken to his US counterpart, Condoleezza Rice, on Tuesday before leaving for Jammu and Kashmir with Vajpayee seeking an assurance that Musharraf would soon act to stop terrorist infiltration.

In the absence of substantial action on the ground, the CCS rejected Pakistan's official statement released on Wednesday, which said its territories would not be allowed to launch terrorist strikes anywhere, including Kashmir. The CCS said this statement was a reiteration of Musharraf's assurances in his January address, which had not yet been implemented.

The Srinagar meeting was also attended by J&K Governor Girish Chandra Saxena, Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, Minister of State for External Affairs Omar Abdullah and Union Minister of State for Home Affairs I.D. Swami and the commanders of the 15 and 16 corps.

Sources said the pros and cons of going to war in the near future were weighed. The possibility of internal sabotage of a war effort in Jammu and Kashmir, seen during the Kargil conflict when militants planted landmines on roads inflicting casualties on soldiers and attempting to disrupt ammunition supplies to the front, was also discussed.

At a press conference after the meeting, Vajpayee expressed his "disappointment" at Musharraf's reiteration of the position outlined in his address to the nation this January: that Pakistan would not allow its territory to be used for launching terrorist strikes.

In a statement released at the press conference, Vajpayee repeated what he had told army personnel in Kupwara on Wednesday. It said India was prepared to accept the challenge presented by its neighbour's sponsorship of cross-border terrorism. The statement also said India was preparing for a "decisive victory".

Questioned about war clouds, Vajpayee said though the "sky (was) clear", lightning could strike, but he hoped it would not.

Meanwhile, intelligence sources said some terrorist camps in PoK had been moved away from the Line of Control. This could either be in anticipation of Indian strikes or be a sign of Musharraf cracking down on infiltration.

State Of Play

[Momaw Nadon]

It seems like someone is backing down, at least temporarily.

Possibly the leaders of India and Pakistan saw The Day After and realized that maybe nuclear war is not the way to solve their problems.

[ChicagoRepublican]

(sarcasm) OHHHH boy I bet the Pakistanis are really scared of the Indians. (/sarcasm)

Indian leadership is all talk and no action. I don't know if this is a historical issue, seeing as the only country India has invaded since independence was Sri Lanka, or the long line of socialist prime ministers, or maybe Vajpayee is more suited to being a poet than running a country.

One day Vajpayee claims a "decisive victory is coming" and the the next day he says the "sky is clear" of war clouds. All the while he is making half a million Indian soldiers patrol along a futile border while terrorists are scheming a matter of a few miles away.

[pgkdan]

Looks like Vajpayee blinked.

[varon]

Sources said a decision to begin a war against Pakistan would depend on how it acted in the next two months.

Oh crap, just when it was getting to be exciting, we gotta wait another two months, yuck ;-)

[Fish out of Water]

*Index Bump

[RightWhale]

There used to be a couple of Portugese colonies near Bombay that were invaded suddenly without warning and they are gone.

[Darth Sidious]

Years ago (like 1986) while visiting Florida, a tv station there was showing "Threads" one night. Far, FAR more sicko than "The Day After" ever was. There's one scene from that movie that haunts me to this day: during the nuclear winter, this woman has to deliver her own baby and chews through the umbilical cord...

Yuck.

[AppyPappy]

Either that or they are trying to lull the Paks into averting their gaze.

[cmsgop]

Darth..

Im going to get you the Disney Channel,....OK?

[happygrl]

What do you think ?

[swarthyguy]

Keep Pakistan guessing. off guard?

[Darth Sidious]

It was a British movie too, BTW. Here's a page about it.

[happygrl]

I don't know if this is a historical issue,...

Yes, it is, since the time of partion and independence. Read some history if you don't know.

seeing as the only country India has invaded since independence was Sri Lanka,...

Please read some history. India has been at war with Pakistan several times and China once in 1962. India went to war with Pakistan last in 1971 to aid then- East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) with its independence following a civil war which resulted in millions (estimates as high as 10 million) Bangladeshies over the border into India as refugees, one of the greatest refugee situations ever seen.

The subcontinent has simmered with volatility for over 60 years.

[happygrl]

I've seen Threads also and agree with you review; FAR more haunting than The Day After.

The depiction of the total breakdown of society as a legacy of nuclear war is really something to ponder.

I would not wish it on anyone, except the Saudis.

[Nowhere Man]

Years ago (like 1986) while visiting Florida, a tv station there was showing "Threads" one night. Far, FAR more sicko than "The Day After" ever was. There's one scene from that movie that haunts me to this day: during the nuclear winter, this woman has to deliver her own baby and chews through the umbilical cord...

Yuck.

I know, I remember seeing it in 1985 or so, that movie really knocked my socks off too to say the least. One scene I remember from it is where 10, maybe 13 years after the war, somebody got a TV and VCR up and running in a blown up school and was using it to teach the children. I remember the picture was rolling a little from age and disuse with the teacher on the tape saying "C-A-T spells cat." Also that lady who had the baby in threads, I remember at the end, she got sick and died, it was horrible.

I also have a Soviet movie that I taped in 1986 off of WTBS called "Letters From a Dead Man" where a Western European scientist is waiting to go into an underground shelter for 30 years. He is wondering if his part of the computer system triggered World War III and is waiting for his son to come back and to go underground with him when it is time. It gave me the willies too, you see the orangish/brown sephia of the film to make it look like nuclear winter and you see this fast paced black & white flashbacks.

I do admit one of my favorite genre is post nuclear war and apocalpyse films so I like to collect them. I wish I had "Threads" and "Damnation Alley" in my collection. I also like the role playing games of that genre too such as "Twilight: 2000" and "The Morrow Project."

[My Favorite Headache]

I would not wish it on anyone, except the Saudis.>>>

Happygrl...you made me happy there...lololol.

[Hazzardgate]

Oh boy, that movie is the *definitive* nuclear war picture. I think all the nuke hawks on this board should be made to watch it.

[Hazzardgate]

I have the DVD from England, can make you a VHS dub if you like (Freepmail me). But ask yourself if you really want to see it again......

[Don Myers]

"It seems like someone is backing down, at least temporarily. "

Yeah, they are acting like a bully. A typical school-yard bully makes big talk, then when no one pays attention, will begin backing up.