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Pak threat of using nukes, sign of desperation : Fernandes |
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India has described Pakistan’s threat of using nuclear weapons against it as a “sign of desperation” and said it had no intention of withdrawing its troops deployed along the Pakistani frontier.
Defence Minister George Fernandes signaled that New Delhi had no intention of getting embroiled in a nuclear exchange with Pakistan despite the tense military standoff along the western border.
“President Pervez Musharraf’s comment about using nuclear weapons as a last resort is a sign of desperation,” Fernandes said on the sidelines of a conference of top Air Force Commanders last week.
In an interview to a German magazine, Musharraf had warned that nuclear weapons could be used against India if the pressure on Pakistan became too great.
“We don’t want Pakistan to die. We want Pakistan to thrive,” Fernandes said. “If he (Musharraf) has other ideas, what can we do?”
Fernandes said India currently had no plans to withdraw troops it had deployed along the Pakistan border after a terror attack on Parliament on December 13 last year.
“How can we review the deployment? The deployment will remain,” he said, referring to what New Delhi says is Pakistan’s failure to address its concerns about trans-national terrorism.
Indian forces in Jammu and Kashmir had stepped up vigil to intercept Pakistan-backed militants who might be infiltrated into the state as mountain passes reopened with the melting of winter snows. “We are looking for people who are trying to come (into Kashmir) so that they can be despatched.”
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