# Pakistan moves troops to India border - CNN



## Yrys (26 Dec 2008)

Pakistan moves troops to India border

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Pakistani troops have been moved to the Indian border 
amid fears of an Indian ground incursion, two Pakistani military officials told CNN on 
Friday. The troops were deployed from Pakistan's western border with Afghanistan, 
where forces have been battling Taliban and al Qaeda militants in North West Frontier 
Province and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

Pakistan's armed forces have been on high alert in anticipation of a possible conflict 
with India following last month's terrorist attacks in Mumbai, which killed 160 people.

India believes the 10 men who carried out the attacks were trained at a terrorist camp 
in the Pakistani-controlled part of Kashmir.

A senior official said the troops had been moved from areas where there are no active 
military operations, and emphasized that troop levels have not been depleted in areas 
where soldiers are battling militants, such as the Swat Valley and near Peshawar, 
capital of the North West region. In addition to the move, leave for all military personnel 
has been restricted and all troops were called back to active duty, the senior official said.

Asked for a reaction to the development, Husain Haqqani. Pakistani ambassador to the 
United States, said, "Pakistan does not seek war, but we need to be vigilant against threats 
of war emanating from the other side of our eastern border." He said Pakistan's conduct 
since the Mumbai attack "has been consistent with international expectations. There is no 
justification for threats against Pakistan." "Pakistan is also a victim of terrorism and will 
continue to act against terrorists," he added. "We are a country of rule of law and need 
evidence to prosecute anyone for the crime of terrorism."

U.S. National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said the United States has 
been "in close contact" with India and Pakistan in probing the Mumbai attack and fighting 
terror. He is hoping that "both sides will avoid taking steps that will unnecessarily raise 
tensions during these already tense times."

In London, England, Pakistani envoy to Britain Wajid Shamsul Hasan countered the report, 
noting that winter redeployments are normal and that only police and not the army had 
their vacation canceled. While he criticized India's "coercive diplomacy" and regretted 
India's "war hysteria," he underscored the fact that the two countries don't want to go 
to war.

Tensions increased between nuclear rivals India and Pakistan following the November 26 
attacks in Mumbai, where militants launched a coordinated strike against luxury hotels, 
a Jewish center and other targets.

India has criticized Islamabad for not doing enough to counter terrorism, and it has 
accused elements within the Pakistan government and military of complicity in fueling 
terrorism in the region.

On Thursday, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi warned India to refrain 
from launching any strikes against Pakistan, according to a report in The Nation newspaper. 

Another unnamed Pakistani military official told CNN that the Pakistani military has been taking 
precautionary measures to safeguard borders in the face of mounting military threats from 
India over the Mumbai attacks. "Naturally, you have to take certain steps to stem that 
expected tide of Indian operations," he said, "You can't fight on both fronts so we have 
redeployed certain military elements from the western border to the northern border 
to meet Indian operations."

The official said that while Pakistan has tolerated U.S. missile strikes from Afghanistan 
into Pakistan, he believes the government and public would not stand for an Indian incursion.

In the Indian capital of New Delhi on Friday, three military chiefs briefed Prime Minister 
Manmohan Singh on the security situation. An Indian officer said Indian soldiers have 
spotted Pakistani troop movements along the Line of Control in Kashmir. The Line of 
Control divides the disputed region between the area controlled by India and the area 
administered by Pakistan.

Indian defense spokesman Sitanshu Kar said India isn't carrying out a troop buildup along 
its western borders but "is monitoring the situation closely." He also said he is "not aware" 
of military reports about Pakistani troop mobilization along the Indian border.

"But we are keeping a vigil," Kar said.

Since the division of the subcontinent in 1947, India and Pakistan have fought three wars, 
including two over the disputed territory of Kashmir -- now wracked by an 18-year, bloody 
separatist campaign that authorities say has left at least 43,000 dead. There also was a 
limited border conflict in 1999 between the countries in Kashmir.


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## Yrys (26 Dec 2008)

US warning on South Asia tension, BBC News

The United States has urged India and Pakistan to avoid unnecessarily raising 
tension amid reports of troop movements to the border.

Some Pakistani troops have been redeployed from the north-west and some 
leave cancelled, army officials said. India earlier advised its citizens against 
travelling to Pakistan amid the continuing tension in the wake of last month's 
deadly attacks in Mumbai. The attacks on several targets in the city left more 
than 170 people dead.

*'Close contact'*

A Pakistani military spokesman called its movements a minimum defensive 
measure. And a senior security official said a limited number of soldiers had 
been pulled out from non-essential positions on the Afghan border and areas 
where there were no military operations. Pakistani media reported that troops 
were strengthening some positions on the border with India.

The Line of Control in divided Kashmir and the towns of Kasur and Sialkot were 
areas mentioned in the reports.

Air strikes against militants in the restive Swat and Bajaur regions had been scaled 
down as some of the airpower had to be redeployed to the country's eastern border, 
a senior Pakistani military official told Asif Farooqi, the Islamabad-based 
correspondent of the BBC Urdu service.

There have been reports of possible forthcoming "surgical" strikes by India on the 
headquarters and camps of Lashkar-e-Taiba, the militant group India blames for 
the Mumbai attacks. The group and Pakistan's government deny any involvement.

White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said: "We hope that both sides will avoid 
taking steps that will unnecessarily raise tensions during these already tense times."
He said the US remained "in close contact with both countries to urge closer 
co-operation in investigating the Mumbai attacks and in fighting terrorism generally".  

The BBC's Barbara Plett in Islamabad says the troop movements do not appear 
to be greatly significant and that both countries have said they want to avoid 
military conflict. However they warn they will act if provoked. But our correspondent 
says any significant cut in the Pakistani military presence along the Afghan border 
would worry Washington, which relies on Islamabad to stem cross-border Taleban 
attacks on Nato forces.

India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh discussed the Pakistan situation with 
his military chiefs on Friday. The Indian foreign ministry advised Indian nationals 
not to travel to Pakistan following recent bombings in the Pakistani cities of Lahore 
and Multan.

One woman was killed and four people injured on Wednesday in Lahore.

Media reports said a number of Indians were detained although this has not been 
officially confirmed. Indian foreign ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash said in Delhi 
there were reports the Indians were "being accused of being terrorists".

"Indian citizens are therefore advised that it would be unsafe for them to travel or 
be in Pakistan."


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## vonGarvin (26 Dec 2008)

For those who doubt that the Wii is worth it, I first heard of this today checking the news on our Wii.

I sure hope this doesn't get ugly...


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## GAP (26 Dec 2008)

If one were a tiny bit paranoid......ISI & AQ, et al get together, stage an attack on Mumbai.....voila, where do the troops come from to confront that Nasty India?.......


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## Yrys (26 Dec 2008)

GAP said:
			
		

> If one were a tiny bit paranoid......ISI & AQ, et al get together, stage an attack on Mumbai.....voila, where do the troops come from to confront that Nasty India?.......



Well, I wouldn't call that paranoid... Just a bit of strategical thinking...

After all, terrorists will benefit to have more pakistani troops to the border 
with India, and less to the one with Afghanistan ...


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## Yrys (27 Dec 2008)

Pakistan seeks to reduce tensions with India, AP
Nation says it does not want war, remains committed to fighting terrorism

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistan told India on Saturday it did not want war 
and was committed to fighting terrorism — a move apparently aimed at 
reducing tensions after Pakistan moved troops toward their shared border.

Intelligence officials said Friday that the army was redeploying thousands 
of troops from the country's fight against militants along the Afghan border 
to the Indian frontier — _an alarming scenario for the West as it tries to get 
Pakistan to neutralize the al-Qaida threat_.

Islamabad also announced it was canceling all military leave — the latest turn 
of the screw in the rising tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors 
following last month's terror attack on the Indian financial capital of Mumbai.
India has blamed Pakistani militants for the terrifying three-day siege. Pakistan's 
recently elected civilian government has demanded that India back up the claim 
with better evidence but has also said it is committed to fighting the "cancer" 
of terrorism.

"We ourselves have accepted that we have a cancer," said Pakistani President 
Asif Ali Zardari in a televised speech Saturday. "They are forcing their agenda 
on us." Zardari has pledged to battle militancy, repeatedly reminding critics that 
his wife, Benazir Bhutto, was herself killed in a gun-and-suicide bomb attack 
blamed on terrorists.

Tens of thousands of Pakistanis visited her grave Saturday to mark the first 
anniversary of her assassination.

*‘War hysteria’ in Pakistan*

But in the four months since Zardari took power — picking up the reins of her 
Pakistan People's Party in the wake of her death — Islamist violence has 
continued largely unabated.

Many analysts have speculated that the assailants who carried out the Mumbai 
attacks sought to distract Pakistan by redirecting its focus toward India and away 
from the military campaign against al-Qaida and Taliban militants on the Afghan 
border.

Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee said Saturday it was unfortunate that a 
"sort of war hysteria" has been created in Pakistan. "I appeal to Pakistan and 
Pakistani leaders, do not unnecessarily try to create tension," he said, according 
to the Press Trust of India news agency. "Do not try to deflect the issue. A problem 
has to be tackled face to face."

Pakistan's latest moves, including the troop redeployment, were seen as an indication 
that it will retaliate if India launches air or missile strikes against militant targets on 
Pakistani soil — rather than as a signal that a fourth war between the two countries 
was imminent.

The United States has been trying to ease the burgeoning crisis while also pressing 
Pakistan to crack down on the militants Washington says were likely responsible for 
the Mumbai attack. The siege left 164 people dead after gunmen targeted 10 sites 
including two five-star hotels and a Jewish center.

Two Pakistani intelligence officials — requesting anonymity because of the sensitivity 
of the situation — said Friday that elements of the army's 14th Infantry Division were 
being redeployed from the militant hotspot of Waziristan to the towns of Kasur and 
Sialkot, close to the Indian border.

*India has not ruled out use of force*

The military began the troop movement Thursday and plans to shift a total of 20,000 
soldiers — about one-fifth of those in the tribal areas, they said without providing a 
timeframe. Witnesses reported seeing long convoys carrying troops and equipment 
toward India on Thursday and Friday, but there was no sign of fresh movement 
Saturday, suggesting the country was not rushing the troops to the frontier.

Another intelligence official said Saturday up to 1,300 troops had also been pulled out 
of Bajur region, the scene of a major Pakistani offensive against the Taliban. They were 
transported to a large base back from the Afghan border, said the official, also speaking 
on condition of anonymity. But their final destination was not immediately known.

The army has refused comment on any troop movement, but a senior Pakistani security 
official Friday denied that soldiers were being deployed to the Indian border. He said a 
"limited number" of soldiers were being shifted from areas "where they were not engaged 
in any operations on the western border or from areas which were snowbound."

Pakistan and India have fought three wars since their independence from Britain in 1947, 
two over Kashmir, a majority Muslim region in the Himalayas claimed by both countries.
India and Pakistan have said they want to avoid military conflict over the Mumbai attacks, 
and most analysts say war is unlikely, not least because both sides have too much to lose 
if conflict breaks out.

But India — which is under domestic pressure to respond aggressively to the attacks — 
has not ruled out the use of force.


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## 1feral1 (27 Dec 2008)

To demonstrate such stupid behavior by having troops mass on the borders tells me they both sides are just looking for an excuse to have a go at each other.  I don't think peace is on their minds at all.

Just my opinion, we all know they hate each other.

OWDU


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## Yrys (15 Jan 2009)

Pakistan 'holds 71' over Mumbai, BBC News

Pakistan says it has so far arrested 71 people in a crackdown on groups allegedly 
linked to the Mumbai attacks.

Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik said officials had also shut several schools 
run by a charity linked to the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group. Mr Malik 
said the moves showed Pakistan was serious about fighting extremism, but it 
needed more information from India to prosecute suspects in court.

India says the attacks were plotted in Pakistan. Islamabad denies any link. 
Relations between the two countries have deteriorated sharply since the 
November attacks which left at least 173 dead.

The Pakistani government is under intense international pressure to prosecute 
individuals with suspected links to the Mumbai (Bombay) attacks and punish 
them if found guilty.

India says Pakistan is failing to take action despite evidence of Lashkar's 
involvement in the attacks.

*Militant camps*

Mr Malik said the authorities had so far closed down 87 institutions - including 
seven madrassas (religious schools) - belonging to the banned Jamaat-ud-dawa 
Islamic charity. The organisation is widely seen as a political front for Lashkar-e-
Taiba. A number of publications and websites had also been blocked.

Mr Malik said eight of the charity's relief camps and five suspected training camps 
had been closed, although the government had not found evidence of militant 
activity at these sites.

"We have arrested a total [of] 124 mid-level and top leaders," he told a news 
conference in Islamabad.

However, his deputy, Kamal Shah, later clarified that the number arrested 
was actually 71. Mr Shah said 124 others were under surveillance and had 
to register their every move with police.

The camps closed down include the main Lashkar-e-Taiba base in Pakistani-
administered Kashmir, which was shut in December.

The group's main commander, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, who has been named 
in India as being linked to the Mumbai attacks, was one of those arrested at 
that time. The arrests began in early December after the UN Security Council 
ruled that he and three other Lashkar-e-Taiba members should face sanctions 
for links with al-Qaeda and the Taleban. They were issued with an assets 
freeze, travel ban and arms embargo.

The Security Council panel also said that the charity Jamaat-ud-Dawa was a 
front for Lashkar-e-Taiba and subject to sanctions.

*'Onus on India'*

The Pakistani government says that all those arrested are still in custody and 
all will be dealt with under the Pakistani criminal justice system rather than 
be deported to India. "We have done our best and the onus is now on India," 
Mr Malik said.

Mr Malik repeated Pakistani calls for a joint investigation, something India 
has rejected. And he said a dossier of information received from Delhi last 
week needed further investigation to turn it into evidence that would stand 
up in court.

Mr Malik said that a committee had also been formed of high level police 
officials to monitor the activities of Jamaat-ud-Dawa.

The BBC's Syed Shoaib Hasan in Islamabad says that doubts remain however 
over the effectiveness of Pakistan's crackdown, especially given Jamaat-ud-Dawa's 
growing role as a rich charity in an impoverished nation.

Our correspondent says that there is also concern that that the group's main centre 
of operations in Muridke outside Lahore remains open and many senior leaders 
remain operative.

Speaking in Mumbai, the British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said that the 
Pakistani authorities needed to show "more urgency" in taking action against 
those responsible for the attacks in the city.

"Pakistani authorities need to detain people and take further action like prosecution 
and action against them if found guilty," he said.


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