>From Jal Khambata

NEW DELHI: The foreign minister-level India-Pakistan talks
on the Kargil development failed on Saturday with neither side
budging even an inch in their respective stands and throwing
onus on each other to de-escalate tension. India even hinted
that there will be no more talks unless Pakistan vacates Indian
territory while Pakistan affirmed that India was making false
claim of violations of Line of Control.

Both sides reiterated their known respective positions at the
3-hour long talks held in two sessions, with a working lunch
thrown in, at the heavily-guarded Hyderabad house and Pakistan
Foreign Minister Sartaj Aziz flew back to Islamabad, saying he
was leaving behind some specific suggestions for India to react.

Sartaj Aziz wanted India to immediately halt the strafing of the
Kargil sector with the IAF aircraft and stop firing across the
Line of Control to achieve "partial de-escalation" of tension,
but Jaswant Singh made it clear that the military operation once
started would end only when each and every infiltrator is
removed from the Indian soil.

Jaswant Singh, however, made it clear that the only solution
lies in vacation of aggression on the Indian mountains by
Pakistan to restore status quo ante and "it is now for Pakistan
to response... Onus is on Pakistan to revert to what we said."
Aziz said he would convey India's point of view to his Prime
Minister as told to him by Jaswant Singh and Atal Bihari
Vajpayee whom he called on later.

Both Jaswant Singh and Aziz addressed separate Press conferences
and there was tussle even in this as both wanted to know what
the other says to the Media as Pakistan High Commission shifted
the Press conference from 4.30 PM to 7 PM when it learnt that
Jaswant Singh would hold it at 6.30 PM. The Indian External
Affairs Ministry quickly shifted it to 7.30 PM. 

India did not issue any official statement, but Aziz said in a
2-page statement that he "had no illusion to have resolved the
current difficulties in a day's visit to New Delhi." He said he
refuses to be pessimistic since "both our Prime Ministers are
men of peace."

Within hours of the fruitless talks, Vajpayee, however, convened
a meeting of all parties to take everybody into confidence as a
view was emerging in the government that India was left with no
option but to go full blast in attack on the enemy, no matter if
it remains not confined to Kargil sector but spread to the whole
of Jammu and Kashmir.

Asked if India were left with only the military means to throw
out the intrusion, External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh said
the invasion would be vacated "by military or diplomatic
whichever means applies first." He, however, hastened to add: "I
did not say diplomatic means failed for ever. No."

Jaswant Singh refused to admit the talks had failed. He would
not classify them as failure or success since he said the result
depends on Pakistan. "Safalta, vifalta ki taraju me nahi taul
raha hun." He, however, made it clear that "no question of my
going to Islamabad as it is for Pakistan to respond."

Asked what did the two sides agree if the talks were not a total
failure, Jaswant Singh quipped that the achievement was that "we
made our position clear."

He said he essentially made just two points: Vacation of
aggression in Kargil and inhuman treatment to Indian soldiers in
Pakistan custody. Asked if Sartaj Aziz denied the charge of
mutilation of bodies of six soldiers by Pakistan army, Jaswant
singh said "the issue was raised twice and he did not deny."

"Yes he denied it," shouted a Pakistani journalist who had
rushed to Jaswant Singh's Press conference immediately after
Sartaj Aziz held one in the Pakistan High Commission. Aziz had
denied it at least in his Press conference and pointed out that
the bodies were lying in open for three weeks before the
Pakistan Army recovered them and yet his Government would see
that such brutalities are not repeated in future."

Jaswant Singh said he pointed out to Aziz his own military
spokesman admitting intrusions into Indian areas by the Pakistan
Army as reported in the morning papers and claimed it was "not
denied" by Aziz. However, at his Press conference, Aziz stoutly
denied Pakistan's involvement in any way in the armed intrusion.
He said: "LOC pe das salse kuch na kuch hota raha hai. kaun
ghusa hai aur kaun nahi iske barreme kuchh nahi kaha sakte hai.
Bharatki tarafse overreaction ho raha hai."

Asked how the tension will end in Kargil when there was no
meeting point at the talks, Jaswant Singh said he told Aziz that
"the simplest way is to eliminate cause of escalation of tension
and it will re-escalate and defuse." Intrusion is the cause of
the tension.

Aziz, however, asserted both at the talks and at the Press
conference that the tension had escalated because of the heavy
deployment of army and air force in the area. Jaswant Singh,
however, affirmed that the joint operation of IAF and Army was
launched only after the armed aggression took place and hence
the aggression should first end and the tension would end.

While claiming to have given some specific proposals to resolve
the Kargil crisis, Aziz did not disclose the details. Jaswant
Singh did not refer to them in his Press conference but came
forward with details when asked. 

"His Excellency Foreign Minister of Pakistan Janab Sartaj Aziz
wanted "partial de-escalation" by India stopping air attacks and
army operations, but I told him that we are for total stoppage
of tension and not for partial. Remove the factor that caused
escalation of tension and it will be effective."

When one of the Pakistani journalists who have come here for
covering the talks pointed out that India was accusing Pakistan
of violation of the Line of Control but India had itself
violated LoC not once but thrice in 1972, 1984 and 1988 in
Siachen, Jaswant Singh shot back to correct him that Siachen
"is away from LoC."

In his written statement, Aziz said: "Both of us have a huge stake
in restoring the Lahore spirit and moving towards a new era in
our relations in accordance with the wishes of our peoples. This
cannot happen by whipping up war-like hysteria and hatred
against each other or through threats and coercion. Mutual trust
must be based on mutual respect."

When a Pakistani journalist echoed his foreign minister's views
that India had vitiated and violated the two Prime Ministers'
solemn declaration made in Lahore in February, Jaswant Singh
shot back: "Even before the ink of Lahore declaration had died,
that Pakistan chose to vitiate it in spirit and letter." 

Aziz asserted that India had "over-reacted" and escalated
tension. Jaswant Singh dismissed his remarks as "spacious
proposition." He said "as soon as Pakistan accepts the myth of
freedom struggle in Jammu and Kashmir and stops sending armed
troops in disguise as Mujahideens into our territory, the
tension would evaporate automatically."

Aziz, however, affirmed that the Kashmir question has remained
unresolved because people of Kashmi have not been given right of
self-determination for the last 50 years and therefore the
freedom fighters are continuing their fight. He said: "Kargil is
only the tip of the iceberg."

He also demanded at the Press conference that the UN military
observers' group in Kashmir should be expanded. Jaswant Singh,
however, categorically asserted that Aziz did not raise the
issue during talks with him. He said so far his recollection
goes, there was "not even the mention of the word UN group."

Asked about Aziz's stress on both sides discussing Kashmir issue
in totality, Jaswant Singh pointed out that both sides were
already discussing the issue in totality but that dialogue
procedure was "aborted" by Pakistan by its own Kargil action.

In response to a Pakistan journalist's pointed question that
India was taking the two sides on a "war path", Jaswant Singh
replied in just one word: "No."  He had same "No" as answer to
the same journalist question whether talks had led the two sides
from "zero to zero." 

Sartaj Aziz raised the question of the Line of Control and that
it was yet to be established, but Jaswant Singh said he made it
clear to him that there can be no dispute on the LoC which is a
part of the 1972 Simla agreement between the two countries. END.
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