AP World Politics Thu Sep 12, 1:08
PM ET
Musharraf blames India for holding peace hostage in nuclear-armed
South Asia
By
Ranjan Roy, Associated Press Writer
UNITED NATIONS - Pakistani President Gen.
Pervez Musharraf on Thursday accused India of holding peace hostage
in South Asia through its "belligerence" and proposed
immediate steps to prevent another war between the nuclear-armed
nations.
"Today peace in South Asia is hostage to one
accident, one act of terrorism, one strategic miscalculation by
India," he said in a speech to the U.N. General Assembly.
Calling on India, a country with which Pakistan
has fought three wars in five decades, to hold talks, Musharraf
proposed that the two nuclear powers should agree to reduce forces
on the fragile frontier, observe a cease-fire along the border that
divides the disputed territory of Kashmir ( news - web sites) and
halt what he called "state terrorism" against Kashmiris.
"Pakistan will not start a conflict with India.
But if a war is thrust upon us, we shall exercise our right to self-defense
fully and effectively," Musharraf said.
There was no immediate response from India, but
New Delhi has said talks would be useless until Pakistan stops arming
and harboring Islamic terrorists who launch attacks on the Indian-ruled
part of Kashmir and elsewhere in India. Prime Minister Atal Bihari
Vajpayee addresses the assembly on Friday.
The world has been increasingly concerned over tensions
between India and Pakistan. The region was among the topics that
U.S. President George W. Bush ( news - web sites) discussed with
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan ( news - web sites) on Thursday.
"The situation may have calmed a little, but
it remains perilous," Annan said in his speech to the assembly
earlier in the day.
Musharraf, Pakistan's military chief who seized
power in a coup in 1999 and last year became Washington's closest
ally in the war in Afghanistan ( news - web sites), said the global
campaign against terrorism must not be used to undermine genuine
freedom struggles or to malign Islam.
He said one such struggle was by Muslim groups seeking
freedom for Kashmir, a region that was divided between the two countries
at the end of British colonial rule in 1947, which led to India's
independence and Pakistan's creation.
"It is not religion which impels a terrorist
act; it is often a sense of frustration and powerlessness to redress
persistent injustice," Musharrraf said.
India was responsible for "de-legitimizing
the Kashmiri freedom struggle," he claimed.
"India's belligerence also reflects the chauvinistic
ideology of the Hindu extremist parties and organizations,"
Musharraf said, referring to Vajpayee's Bharatiya Janata Party.
The party most recently has been blamed by rights activists in India
for not doing enough to prevent the massacre of Muslims by Hindu
extremists in the state of Gujarat earlier this year. More than
1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed.
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