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Putin has promised to speak to Vajpayee on Kashmir, says Musharraf

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD OCT. 18. The Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf, said here today that his Russian counterpart, Vladamir Putin, had promised to speak to the Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, on Kashmir when Mr. Vajpayee visited Moscow next month.

Talking to correspondents on arrival from Malaysia, where he had gone to attend the OIC summit at Putrajaya, Gen. Musharraf said his meeting with Mr. Putin in Malaysia was successful.

Gen. Musharraf said Mr. Putin had promised to impress on Mr. Vajpayee the need for the resumption of a dialogue and settlement of the Kashmir issue. He had a meeting with Mr. Putin on the sidelines of the summit. Russia was invited to the Conference as an Observer and Mr. Putin addressed the summit. Gen. Musharraf said that at the summit all Muslim countries had unanimously backed a settlement of the Kashmir issue and Pakistan would strive to get their maximum support.

Earlier, at a news conference at the end of the conference at Putrajaya, Gen. Musharraf maintained that a balance in conventional forces was the key to peace in South Asia and Pakistan would always move to rectify any strategic disparity in the region.

In recent weeks, Pakistan had been harping on the theme at every forum. It accused India of acquiring arms from parts of the world and disturbing the conventional balance in South Asia. Islamabad was particularly upset over the recent pact between India on the one hand and Israel and Russia on the other on the Phalcon deal.

"We want peace in the region and it is ensured through the balance of forces, specially the conventional forces," he said and claimed that Pakistan had maintained this balance in forces through its strategy of deterrence.

"This strategy of deterrence and the quantification of force level creates a no-win situation in the case of war," he said and expressed confidence that because of a no-win situation, war would never take place between Pakistan and India. "If anyone disturbed this no-win situation and created an imbalance in conventional forces, it is very dangerous and we will never allow this to be disturbed. If there is any imbalance created, we will always rectify it and this will never be allowed to be created," he claimed. He said Pakistan was trying for peace in the region, but regretted that the process of dialogue between India and Pakistan had not yet started.

In response to a question, Gen. Musharraf said that Pakistan had been trying all along to hold the SAARC conference. "As far as Pakistan is concerned it is our effort that the SAARC summit takes place."

About the participation of India in the summit to be held in Islamabad early next year, the President said: "I can't say till the Indian delegation comes to Pakistan. I would not be sure because they keep changing their stance."

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