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India links sending troops to Iraq with cross border terrorism

IRNA

New Delhi, Sept 12, IRNA -- In a subtle diplomatic move, India has 
linked any shift in its stand on sending its combat troops to Iraq 
to the continued "Pak-sponsored terror" campaign in Jammu and Kashmir 
(J&K), local press reported here on Friday. 
Top sources said India`s position linking its inability to release
troops for Iraq was conveyed to the US assistant secretary of state, 
Christina Rocca, currently on a week-long visit to New Delhi. 
The Americans, it is learnt, were told about earlier too, when the
Bush administration wanted Indian troops for the UN peace-keeping 
mission in Liberia. 
The disclosure comes on the eve of a crucial Cabinet Committee on 
Security (CCS) meeting that will review all the strategic issues 
before Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee`s departure for New York to
attend the United Nations General Assembly meeting, amid indications 
that US president George Bush may take up the matter of troops for 
Iraq. 
Terror campaign in J&K as one of the reasons for not meeting US`s 
request for troops to be deployed in Iraq is a new argument that has 
been put out by the Vajpayee government. So far it has cited 
Parliament`s resolution opposing the US military campaign in Iraq as 
well as lack of domestic consensus for the "no" to the Bush 
administration. 
Observers may see it as India`s way of expressing its 
disappointment with the US because of its inability to take proactive 
measures against Pakistan to get it to desist from its militancy 
campaign in Jammu and Kashmir. 
New Delhi`s frustration with the Bush administration has become 
even more acute with the surfacing of reports about Pakistan`s 
double-standards in combating terrorism as turns a blind eye towards 
the activities of the elements of the Taliban still operating from its
soil. 
Some press reports even suggest that India may not send troops to 
Iraq even under a UN mandate because of the difficult situation along 
the LoC and in Jammu and Kashmir. 
"We can`t afford to send troops to Iraq given the situation in the
Western sector," an Indian official said Thursday, referring to the 
sudden spurt in Pakistan-aided militancy in J&K. The situation in Iraq
is a deterrent as well. 
With the situation on the north-western front on the boil, the 
defense ministry has been forced to strengthen its formations in all 
the three services with purchases of equipment worth about Rs 200 
billion. 
/FM/210 
End