Indian Troops on the Move: Military Official

August 20, 2003

ISLAMABAD: Unusual Indian troop movements have been observed in northern Kashmir in the icy Kargil heights, the scene of a two-month battle between India and Pakistan four years ago, the military here said yesterday.

“There is some kind of movement in the Drass and Kargil sectors,” military spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan said.

“We are keeping a close eye on all developments and we are prepared for any eventuality.”

The Kargil mountains, which hug the Line of Control (LoC) dividing Kashmir between India and Pakistan, have become particularly sensitive since an intrusion four years ago by Pakistani-backed militia fighters who fought off Indian troops for two months before retreating.

The conflict claimed nearly 1,000 combatants from both sides.

Intelligence officials quoted by the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) also alleged an “increased movement of troops and other related activity” in Drass and Kargil.

A Western diplomat said the Indian troop movements, monitored also by international observers, were “more than routine”.

Sultan said the troop movements were surprising in the context of four-month old efforts between Pakistan and India, who have fought two wars over control of Kashmir and have come close to at least two others.

The South Asian giants have been at loggerheads over territorial control of Kashmir, a Muslim-majority Himalayan region whose status was unresolved when India was partitioned to create Pakistan for Muslims in 1947.

They fought wars over it in 1948 and 1965, and were close to a third war over Kashmir in 1999 and again last year.

Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee offered a “hand of friendship” to Pakistan in April, launching a peace process that has so far seen the rivals reappoint ambassadors and revive a cross-border bus service.

Meanwhile pakistan’s foreign minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri told India’s new ambassador yesterday that bilateral talks must be held as soon as possible to sustain the current momentum for peace.

While the foreign minister appreciated diplomatic contacts that had contributed to building expectations and hope, he warned it would be difficult to sustain that momentum “without initiating a composite dialogue at the official level as soon as possible,” a foreign ministry statement said.

Kasuri’s comments were made during a visit by Shiv Shankar Menon, the first Indian ambassador to Pakistan in more than a year.

A peace process has been inching forward since Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee offered a “hand of friendship” to Pakistan on April 18.

The South Asian nuclear neighbours have begun working to mend ties after coming close to war last year following a deadly attack on India’s parliament in December 2001, which New Delhi blamed on Pakistan.

In the past four months, a trans-border bus service has been revived and envoys reappointed to both capitals. There has been no date set, however, for talks at official, ministerial or head of state levels.

Kasuri told Menon “that given the political will on both sides, it would be possible for Pakistan and India to improve relations which would contribute towards a better future for the people of the two countries.”

He said both sides had to address all issues including the territorial dispute over Kashmir, the Himalayan border region divided between the rivals and claimed in full by both.

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