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Politics : WAR on Terror. Will it engulf the Entire Middle East? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Nukeit who wrote (1308)	12/26/2001 10:33:16 AM
From: Scoobah	Respond to of 32591

India moves missiles into postion as Pakistan tension grows By Reuters NEW DELHI/ISLAMABAD - India said Wednesday that it had deployed fighter jets to forward bases as a standoff with its traditional foe and nuclear rival Pakistan intensified. With the neighbors who have fought three wars exchanging fire across their border and civilians in the area fleeing their homes, India's defense minister said his country's missile systems were "in position". In the Indian capital New Delhi, India's leaders gathered to discuss their next move in a dispute which stems from a December 13 suicide attack on their national parliament -- an attack India blames on two Pakistan-based groups fighting its rule in Kashmir. "Yes that has been happening," a defense ministry spokesman told Reuters, when asked whether fighter planes had been moved to forward bases over the past couple of days. He described the move as a "precautionary measure". District officials in India's western desert state of Rajasthan -- which shares a 1,035 km (645 miles) border with Pakistan -- said blackout exercises were being held in the border districts at night to prepare civilians ahead of a possible war. Entire districts are being blacked out for 15 minutes (at a time) since Tuesday night," a Bikaner district official told Reuters. "Sirens are sounded, air force planes will fly over the cities and no power generator sets will be allowed to function." India has demanded Pakistan arrest leaders of Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba, blaming them for the December 13 attack which killed 14 people, including the five assailants. Both groups deny any involvement. Pakistan has condemned the attack and said it will act against the groups if it is shown evidence of their involvement but on Tuesday it said it had detained Jaish leader Maulana Azhar Masood. Jaish officials said he had been confined to his home. With India sending more troops to the disputed border in Kashmir, its only Muslim-majority state, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's office said the cabinet's security committee would meet on Wednesday evening. Options Government sources said India's next move could include scaling down the Pakistani embassy in New Delhi and withdrawing over-flight permission to Pakistan International Airlines. Both countries are reinforcing their volatile border in the biggest build-up in almost 15 years. Fears of war weigh heavily on India's financial markets, sending jitters through the stock, bond and currency markets. India has cancelled leave for many troops and called off the Army Day parade scheduled for January 15. Last week, it recalled its high commissioner (ambassador) to Pakistan and expelled a Pakistani diplomat after accusing him of spying. Pakistan denied the charge. Indian Defense Minister George Fernandes told the Press Trust of India news agency on Wednesday the country's missile systems were "in position". He declined to elaborate. In Jammu, winter capital of India's Jammu and Kashmir state, a defence official said Indian and Pakistani troops exchanged intermittent small arms fire through the night along the border and a ceasefire line dividing Kashmir. He said there were no casualties on the Indian side. Three Indian soldiers have been killed since Monday as the neighbours exchanged mortar and machinegun fire in Kashmir. India says hundreds of terrified local villagers have fled. Some desert hamlets on the border were also being evacuated as a precautionary measure, the official added. The show of force by both sides on the ground has been matched by a war of words by leaders of the two countries. India's Vajpayee, speaking on Tuesday before Pakistan said it had detained Azhar, accused Islamabad of trying to force an unwanted war on his country. "We do not want war but war is being thrust on us and we will have to face it," he said. India accuses Pakistan of sponsoring a 12-year separatist campaign in Kashmir. Pakistan denies the charge but says it offers moral support to Kashmiris' separatist aspirations. The neighbors have gone to war three times since independence from Britain in 1947 -- twice over Kashmir, of which China also controls a slice. India and Pakistan were on the brink of a fourth war in 1999 after hundreds of armed intruders crossed into Indian-administered Kashmir from Pakistan and were pushed back by an Indian military offensive. haaretzdaily.com

To: Nukeit who wrote (1308)	12/26/2001 10:43:49 AM
From: Scoobah	Respond to of 32591

PAKISTAN MILITARY WARNS OF NUCLEAR CONFLICT WITH INDIA December 26, 2001 Reuters reports: “A senior Pakistani army officer said on Monday continued border clashes with India could spark an uncontrollable flare-up involving nuclear weapons. The two neighbors have reinforced positions on either side of their disputed border in Kashmir since a December 13 suicide attack on the Indian parliament. Local sources said on Monday that Pakistan's army had deployed anti-aircraft guns and moved most troops from the eastern garrison town of Sialkot to the border with India. Both sides reported exchanges of fresh mortar and heavy machinegun fire elsewhere in Kashmir and New Delhi expelled a Pakistani diplomat, raising tensions between the nuclear-armed adversaries ever higher. Pakistani Brigadier Mohammad Yaqub said the situation was ‘highly explosive’. ‘Because in that situation, that tension, even a small little incident can result in a chain reaction which nobody will be able to control,’ he said. He said an all-out war between the two nations could ‘become really horrific for the entire world’. Asked if nuclear weapons could be used, Yaqub, giving what he called his personal view, said: ‘But if there is a war between the two countries and if any country feels that it comes to its own survival, probably there won't be any hesitation to use nuclear weapons. The movement of troops to and from the border has increased. It is more than in routine times,’ he said…” jvim.com