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Country Says War Not Goal

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The Associated Press

Published: December 28, 2008

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistan told India on Saturday that it does not want war and is 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 Pakistani 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 after last month's terrorist attack on the Indian financial capital, 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 killed in a gun-and-bomb attack blamed on terrorists.

Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee said Saturday that it is unfortunate 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. 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.

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