By C. Raja Mohan appeared in "The Hindu" on June 1, 1999

India will not allow the impending talks with Pakistan to come in the way of its current military operations to roll back the Pakistani occupation across the Line of Control in Kashmir.

Even as he accepted Pakistan's offer to send its Foreign Minister, Mr. Sartaj Aziz, to New Delhi to defuse the current tensions, the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, asserted today that the vacation of Pakistani aggression must precede any improvement of relations between the two nations.

Addressing a gathering at his residence, Mr. Vajpayee said it would be sensible for Pakistan to "call back the infiltrators'' and in any case, "we will force them back''. India wants peace with Pakistan, "but it takes two to clap'', he said.

After agreeing to the proposed talks between Mr. Aziz and the External Affairs Minister, Mr. Jaswant Singh, at a meeting late last night, Mr. Vajpayee today outlined the broad guidelines for the latest round of diplomacy with Pakistan.

Mr. Vajpayee is convinced that India should be prepared to talk peace with Pakistan. He told presspersons here this evening that India would talk to Pakistan despite the reported remark of Mr. Nawaz Sharif proclaiming the Kargil infiltrators as "freedom fighters''.

But Mr. Vajpayee is determined not to let talks with Pakistan interfere with the primary objective of clearing Pakistan-backed intruders from the Indian soil. "We don't want anyone's territory, but we will never concede our territory to anyone else,'' Mr. Vajpayee asserted.

The Ministry of External Affairs, in a statement today, said the dates for Mr. Aziz's visit would be worked out through diplomatic channels. At the same time, it affirmed that the armed forces would continue their operations until the "objective of putting an end to the armed intrusion in the entire Kargil sector and the restoration of the status quo ante is attained''.

In a separate briefing, officials of the Ministry of External Affairs said India's talks with Pakistan would focus on reversing the Pakistani aggression. They would not deal with the dispute over Jammu and Kashmir that was to be taken up in the broader composite dialogue already agreed upon by New Delhi and Islamabad. The officials said Mr. Aziz's visit "will provide an opportunity for India to convey to Pakistan that armed intrusion in Kargil amounting to aggression must end''. Mr. Aziz will be extended all due courtesies during his visit to New Delhi, they said.

The Government's decision to engage Pakistan in a dialogue while pressing ahead with the military operations has been endorsed by the Congress(I). Mr. K. Natwar Singh, who heads the party's external affairs department, said the Congress(I) "wants the dialogue to succeed and Pakistan to agree to withdraw to its side of the Line of Control''.

But the decision by the Defence Minister, Mr. George Fernandes, to provide a special military briefing on the situation in Kargil to a meeting of the National Executive of the BJP has drawn flak from the Opposition parties, who pointed out the inappropriateness of asking military officers to make presentations at a forum of the ruling party.

As the Defence Minister stirs up another needless political controversy, the armed forces are consolidating the gains in the Kargil sector and stepping up pressure on infiltrators by closing in on them.

Briefing the press on the latest developments from the battle front, the spokesmen of the Defence forces said army units were trying "to encircle'' the positions occupied by the intruders "to deny any reinforcements'' from Pakistan and ensuring their "gradual strangulation''. Meanwhile, the Air Force kept up its attacks on the positions of infiltrators for the sixth straight day today.

In an important development, it has been noticed that the Pakistani army's defensive formations along the international border have been ordered to move to their operational areas and are being placed on alert.

Although these could be "precautionary defensive measures'', India is closely monitoring the situation and has taken the necessary steps to "ensure the sanctity of our borders''.

Questioned about the danger of the current conflict in Kargil drifting into a general war between India and Pakistan, the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, Mr. Brajesh Misra, asserted that New Delhi had no intention to escalate the conflict, but would do its utmost to "throw out'' the infiltrators on the Indian side of the Line of Control.

Expanding on the Prime Minister's remarks on "a war- like situation'' in Kashmir, Mr. Misra told Doordarshan that Mr. Vajpayee was referring only to the situation in the Kargil sector.

Mr. Misra also called a reported "nuclear threat'' from Islamabad as "irresponsible''. The Foreign Secretary of Pakistan, Mr. Shamshad Ahmad, has been quoted by Pakistani media as saying, "We will not hesitate to use any weapon in our arsenal'' in its self-defence. "If the reported statement is true'', Mr. Misra responded, "it is utterly irresponsible''.