Jaswant confirms Laden’s hand in Kargil
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Sept 1 — The External Affairs Minister, Mr Jaswant Singh, today confirmed reports about international terrorist Osama bin Laden being involved in the recent Pakistani intrusions in Kargil.

Participating in the meet-the- Press programme at the Press Club of India here, the minister said: “At the appropriate time, they (reports about Laden) will be pronounced upon”.Ruling out the possibility of India moving the International Court of Justice (ICJ) seeking compensation from Pakistan for the Kargil incursions the minister said Pakistan had been punished by the Indian armed forces for its misadventure in Kargil.

It suffered heavy casualties in the operations and brought on itself ruination of its economy.Mr Jaswant Singh rejected as “completely unfounded” Pakistan’s claim that it had repulsed an Indian Army attack to capture a Pakistani post in the Shyok-Turtuk sector near Siachen glacier.

Denying reports about Pakistani regulars intruding into the Kutch area in retaliation to the downing of Pakistani naval aircraft on August 10, the minister asserted that any violation of Indian air or land space “will meet with the same response” Indian forces had demonstrated while evicting Pakistani intruders in Kargil.Mr Jaswant Singh has a tight schedule ahead of him in the next three weeks.

He will first visit Kathmandu followed by a visit to Kazakhstan. The minister will then lead the Indian delegation to the forthcoming UN General Assembly session. He will also deliver a lecture at the Harvard University. On his way back, he will visit Germany and Brussels and have wide-ranging discussions with leaders there on international, regional and issues of mutual concern.

Firmly refuting the suggestion that J&K was the “core” issue for the normalisation of ties between India and Pakistan, Mr Jaswant Singh said it was regrettable that Islamabad had been trying to “play it up” at all forums.

“It is regrettable that Pakistan is positioning itself in a corner and moving against the trends of time”, he said.To a question, Mr Singh said he did not endorse Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Farooq Abdullah’s view that the Line of Control should be converted into a permanent international border.

Allaying apprehensions of India being a “spoiler” of the non-proliferation regime, he said “India was not, is not and will never be” a spoiler and its commitment to global disarmament remained unchanged.

On the prospects of resumption of a composite dialogue process with Pakistan, Mr Jaswant Singh said though New Delhi was not laying any pre-conditions, the essential ingredient for a meaningful dialogue was for Islamabad to stop sponsoring cross-border terrorism.

With Pakistan extolling the virtues of such terrorists, it was surely not the best preparation for a meaningful dialogue between the two countries, he said.The minister disagreed that SAARC member states had maintained complete silence on the Kargil incursions and claimed that the issue had been discussed with various countries including Bangladesh and Nepal, he said.

He said there was a growing “convergence of interest” between India and the USA on an issue of vital importance to New Delhi, and added that two senior officials of the External Affairs Ministry would hold extensive discussions with US State Department and other officials on Afghanistan-related issues tomorrow.Responding to a question, the minister said government’s commitment to the National Telecom Policy stood.