Pakistan moves troops to India border - CNN

[Yrys]

Pakistan moves troops to India border

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Pakistani troops have been moved to the Indian border
amid fears of an Indian ground incursion, two Pakistani military officials told CNN on
Friday. The troops were deployed from Pakistan's western border with Afghanistan,
where forces have been battling Taliban and al Qaeda militants in North West Frontier
Province and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

Pakistan's armed forces have been on high alert in anticipation of a possible conflict
with India following last month's terrorist attacks in Mumbai, which killed 160 people.

India believes the 10 men who carried out the attacks were trained at a terrorist camp
in the Pakistani-controlled part of Kashmir.

A senior official said the troops had been moved from areas where there are no active
military operations, and emphasized that troop levels have not been depleted in areas
where soldiers are battling militants, such as the Swat Valley and near Peshawar,
capital of the North West region. In addition to the move, leave for all military personnel
has been restricted and all troops were called back to active duty, the senior official said.

Asked for a reaction to the development, Husain Haqqani. Pakistani ambassador to the
United States, said, "Pakistan does not seek war, but we need to be vigilant against threats
of war emanating from the other side of our eastern border." He said Pakistan's conduct
since the Mumbai attack "has been consistent with international expectations. There is no
justification for threats against Pakistan." "Pakistan is also a victim of terrorism and will
continue to act against terrorists," he added. "We are a country of rule of law and need
evidence to prosecute anyone for the crime of terrorism."

U.S. National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said the United States has
been "in close contact" with India and Pakistan in probing the Mumbai attack and fighting
terror. He is hoping that "both sides will avoid taking steps that will unnecessarily raise
tensions during these already tense times."

In London, England, Pakistani envoy to Britain Wajid Shamsul Hasan countered the report,
noting that winter redeployments are normal and that only police and not the army had
their vacation canceled. While he criticized India's "coercive diplomacy" and regretted
India's "war hysteria," he underscored the fact that the two countries don't want to go
to war.

Tensions increased between nuclear rivals India and Pakistan following the November 26
attacks in Mumbai, where militants launched a coordinated strike against luxury hotels,
a Jewish center and other targets.

India has criticized Islamabad for not doing enough to counter terrorism, and it has
accused elements within the Pakistan government and military of complicity in fueling
terrorism in the region.

On Thursday, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi warned India to refrain
from launching any strikes against Pakistan, according to a report in The Nation newspaper.

Another unnamed Pakistani military official told CNN that the Pakistani military has been taking
precautionary measures to safeguard borders in the face of mounting military threats from
India over the Mumbai attacks. "Naturally, you have to take certain steps to stem that
expected tide of Indian operations," he said, "You can't fight on both fronts so we have
redeployed certain military elements from the western border to the northern border
to meet Indian operations."

The official said that while Pakistan has tolerated U.S. missile strikes from Afghanistan
into Pakistan, he believes the government and public would not stand for an Indian incursion.

In the Indian capital of New Delhi on Friday, three military chiefs briefed Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh on the security situation. An Indian officer said Indian soldiers have
spotted Pakistani troop movements along the Line of Control in Kashmir. The Line of
Control divides the disputed region between the area controlled by India and the area
administered by Pakistan.

Indian defense spokesman Sitanshu Kar said India isn't carrying out a troop buildup along
its western borders but "is monitoring the situation closely." He also said he is "not aware"
of military reports about Pakistani troop mobilization along the Indian border.

"But we are keeping a vigil," Kar said.

Since the division of the subcontinent in 1947, India and Pakistan have fought three wars,
including two over the disputed territory of Kashmir -- now wracked by an 18-year, bloody
separatist campaign that authorities say has left at least 43,000 dead. There also was a
limited border conflict in 1999 between the countries in Kashmir.

 

[Yrys]

US warning on South Asia tension, BBC News

The United States has urged India and Pakistan to avoid unnecessarily raising
tension amid reports of troop movements to the border.

Some Pakistani troops have been redeployed from the north-west and some
leave cancelled, army officials said. India earlier advised its citizens against
travelling to Pakistan amid the continuing tension in the wake of last month's
deadly attacks in Mumbai. The attacks on several targets in the city left more
than 170 people dead.

'Close contact'

A Pakistani military spokesman called its movements a minimum defensive
measure. And a senior security official said a limited number of soldiers had
been pulled out from non-essential positions on the Afghan border and areas
where there were no military operations. Pakistani media reported that troops
were strengthening some positions on the border with India.

The Line of Control in divided Kashmir and the towns of Kasur and Sialkot were
areas mentioned in the reports.

Air strikes against militants in the restive Swat and Bajaur regions had been scaled
down as some of the airpower had to be redeployed to the country's eastern border,
a senior Pakistani military official told Asif Farooqi, the Islamabad-based
correspondent of the BBC Urdu service.

There have been reports of possible forthcoming "surgical" strikes by India on the
headquarters and camps of Lashkar-e-Taiba, the militant group India blames for
the Mumbai attacks. The group and Pakistan's government deny any involvement.

White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said: "We hope that both sides will avoid
taking steps that will unnecessarily raise tensions during these already tense times."
He said the US remained "in close contact with both countries to urge closer
co-operation in investigating the Mumbai attacks and in fighting terrorism generally". 

The BBC's Barbara Plett in Islamabad says the troop movements do not appear
to be greatly significant and that both countries have said they want to avoid
military conflict. However they warn they will act if provoked. But our correspondent
says any significant cut in the Pakistani military presence along the Afghan border
would worry Washington, which relies on Islamabad to stem cross-border Taleban
attacks on Nato forces.

India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh discussed the Pakistan situation with
his military chiefs on Friday. The Indian foreign ministry advised Indian nationals
not to travel to Pakistan following recent bombings in the Pakistani cities of Lahore
and Multan.

One woman was killed and four people injured on Wednesday in Lahore.

Media reports said a number of Indians were detained although this has not been
officially confirmed. Indian foreign ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash said in Delhi
there were reports the Indians were "being accused of being terrorists".

"Indian citizens are therefore advised that it would be unsafe for them to travel or
be in Pakistan."

 

[vonGarvin]

For those who doubt that the Wii is worth it, I first heard of this today checking the news on our Wii.

I sure hope this doesn't get ugly...

 

[GAP]

If one were a tiny bit paranoid......ISI & AQ, et al get together, stage an attack on Mumbai.....voila, where do the troops come from to confront that Nasty India?.......

 

[Yrys]

If one were a tiny bit paranoid......ISI & AQ, et al get together, stage an attack on Mumbai.....voila, where do the troops come from to confront that Nasty India?.......

Well, I wouldn't call that paranoid... Just a bit of strategical thinking...

After all, terrorists will benefit to have more pakistani troops to the border
with India, and less to the one with Afghanistan ...

 

[Yrys]

Pakistan seeks to reduce tensions with India, AP
Nation says it does not want war, remains committed to fighting terrorism

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistan told India on Saturday it did not want war
and was committed to fighting terrorism — a move apparently aimed at
reducing tensions after Pakistan moved troops toward their shared border.

Intelligence officials said Friday that the army was redeploying thousands
of troops from the country's fight against militants along the Afghan border
to the Indian frontier — an alarming scenario for the West as it tries to get
Pakistan to neutralize the al-Qaida threat.

Islamabad also announced it was canceling all military leave — the latest turn
of the screw in the rising tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors
following last month's terror attack on the Indian financial capital of Mumbai.
India has blamed Pakistani militants for the terrifying three-day siege. Pakistan's
recently elected civilian government has demanded that India back up the claim
with better evidence but has also said it is committed to fighting the "cancer"
of terrorism.

"We ourselves have accepted that we have a cancer," said Pakistani President
Asif Ali Zardari in a televised speech Saturday. "They are forcing their agenda
on us." Zardari has pledged to battle militancy, repeatedly reminding critics that
his wife, Benazir Bhutto, was herself killed in a gun-and-suicide bomb attack
blamed on terrorists.

Tens of thousands of Pakistanis visited her grave Saturday to mark the first
anniversary of her assassination.

‘War hysteria’ in Pakistan

But in the four months since Zardari took power — picking up the reins of her
Pakistan People's Party in the wake of her death — Islamist violence has
continued largely unabated.

Many analysts have speculated that the assailants who carried out the Mumbai
attacks sought to distract Pakistan by redirecting its focus toward India and away
from the military campaign against al-Qaida and Taliban militants on the Afghan
border.

Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee said Saturday it was unfortunate that a
"sort of war hysteria" has been created in Pakistan. "I appeal to Pakistan and
Pakistani leaders, do not unnecessarily try to create tension," he said, according
to the Press Trust of India news agency. "Do not try to deflect the issue. A problem
has to be tackled face to face."

Pakistan's latest moves, including the troop redeployment, were seen as an indication
that it will retaliate if India launches air or missile strikes against militant targets on
Pakistani soil — rather than as a signal that a fourth war between the two countries
was imminent.

The United States has been trying to ease the burgeoning crisis while also pressing
Pakistan to crack down on the militants Washington says were likely responsible for
the Mumbai attack. The siege left 164 people dead after gunmen targeted 10 sites
including two five-star hotels and a Jewish center.

Two Pakistani intelligence officials — requesting anonymity because of the sensitivity
of the situation — said Friday that elements of the army's 14th Infantry Division were
being redeployed from the militant hotspot of Waziristan to the towns of Kasur and
Sialkot, close to the Indian border.

India has not ruled out use of force

The military began the troop movement Thursday and plans to shift a total of 20,000
soldiers — about one-fifth of those in the tribal areas, they said without providing a
timeframe. Witnesses reported seeing long convoys carrying troops and equipment
toward India on Thursday and Friday, but there was no sign of fresh movement
Saturday, suggesting the country was not rushing the troops to the frontier.

Another intelligence official said Saturday up to 1,300 troops had also been pulled out
of Bajur region, the scene of a major Pakistani offensive against the Taliban. They were
transported to a large base back from the Afghan border, said the official, also speaking
on condition of anonymity. But their final destination was not immediately known.

The army has refused comment on any troop movement, but a senior Pakistani security
official Friday denied that soldiers were being deployed to the Indian border. He said a
"limited number" of soldiers were being shifted from areas "where they were not engaged
in any operations on the western border or from areas which were snowbound."

Pakistan and India have fought three wars since their independence from Britain in 1947,
two over Kashmir, a majority Muslim region in the Himalayas claimed by both countries.
India and Pakistan have said they want to avoid military conflict over the Mumbai attacks,
and most analysts say war is unlikely, not least because both sides have too much to lose
if conflict breaks out.

But India — which is under domestic pressure to respond aggressively to the attacks —
has not ruled out the use of force.

 

[1feral1]

To demonstrate such stupid behavior by having troops mass on the borders tells me they both sides are just looking for an excuse to have a go at each other.  I don't think peace is on their minds at all.

Just my opinion, we all know they hate each other.

OWDU

 

[Yrys]

Pakistan 'holds 71' over Mumbai, BBC News

Pakistan says it has so far arrested 71 people in a crackdown on groups allegedly
linked to the Mumbai attacks.

Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik said officials had also shut several schools
run by a charity linked to the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group. Mr Malik
said the moves showed Pakistan was serious about fighting extremism, but it
needed more information from India to prosecute suspects in court.

India says the attacks were plotted in Pakistan. Islamabad denies any link.
Relations between the two countries have deteriorated sharply since the
November attacks which left at least 173 dead.

The Pakistani government is under intense international pressure to prosecute
individuals with suspected links to the Mumbai (Bombay) attacks and punish
them if found guilty.

India says Pakistan is failing to take action despite evidence of Lashkar's
involvement in the attacks.

Militant camps

Mr Malik said the authorities had so far closed down 87 institutions - including
seven madrassas (religious schools) - belonging to the banned Jamaat-ud-dawa
Islamic charity. The organisation is widely seen as a political front for Lashkar-e-
Taiba. A number of publications and websites had also been blocked.

Mr Malik said eight of the charity's relief camps and five suspected training camps
had been closed, although the government had not found evidence of militant
activity at these sites.

"We have arrested a total [of] 124 mid-level and top leaders," he told a news
conference in Islamabad.

However, his deputy, Kamal Shah, later clarified that the number arrested
was actually 71. Mr Shah said 124 others were under surveillance and had
to register their every move with police.

The camps closed down include the main Lashkar-e-Taiba base in Pakistani-
administered Kashmir, which was shut in December.

The group's main commander, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, who has been named
in India as being linked to the Mumbai attacks, was one of those arrested at
that time. The arrests began in early December after the UN Security Council
ruled that he and three other Lashkar-e-Taiba members should face sanctions
for links with al-Qaeda and the Taleban. They were issued with an assets
freeze, travel ban and arms embargo.

The Security Council panel also said that the charity Jamaat-ud-Dawa was a
front for Lashkar-e-Taiba and subject to sanctions.

'Onus on India'

The Pakistani government says that all those arrested are still in custody and
all will be dealt with under the Pakistani criminal justice system rather than
be deported to India. "We have done our best and the onus is now on India,"
Mr Malik said.

Mr Malik repeated Pakistani calls for a joint investigation, something India
has rejected. And he said a dossier of information received from Delhi last
week needed further investigation to turn it into evidence that would stand
up in court.

Mr Malik said that a committee had also been formed of high level police
officials to monitor the activities of Jamaat-ud-Dawa.

The BBC's Syed Shoaib Hasan in Islamabad says that doubts remain however
over the effectiveness of Pakistan's crackdown, especially given Jamaat-ud-Dawa's
growing role as a rich charity in an impoverished nation.

Our correspondent says that there is also concern that that the group's main centre
of operations in Muridke outside Lahore remains open and many senior leaders
remain operative.

Speaking in Mumbai, the British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said that the
Pakistani authorities needed to show "more urgency" in taking action against
those responsible for the attacks in the city.

"Pakistani authorities need to detain people and take further action like prosecution
and action against them if found guilty," he said.