India says Pakistan has not done enough to curb terrorism in Kashmir
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-07-05 21:56

India has accused Pakistan of failing to dismantle the "infrastructure" of militancy in Kashmir and of adopting double standards in fighting international terrorism.

Indian Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee has accused Pakistan of failing to dismantle the 'infrastructure' of militancy in Kashmir and of adopting double standards in fighting international terrorism. [AFP]

"The infrastructure is still there," Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee told a news conference on Tuesday. "They have not dismantled it."

The minister said he told his US hosts this during his visit last week and also told them that Pakistan was adopting a dual approach towards fighting global terrorism.

"One approach is a proactive one with the United States. The other is not so proactive as far as its borders with India are concerned... We are keeping our fingers crossed on what will happen when the snow (in Kashmir) melts," Nukherjee said.

Pakistan is a frontline ally in the US-led "war on teror".

It has also pledged to stop aiding militants in its zone of divided Kashmir as part of a peace process with India.

India has in the past accused Pakistan of training Islamic rebels and sending them into the Indian zone of the Himalayan region, where tens of thousands of people have died in an Islamic insurgency since 1989.

The maximum number of infiltrations takes place in the summer when the snow in the mountain passes melts.

India has acknowledged that the number of infiltrations has fallen since the two countries began their peace process in January last year. But it still accuses Pakistan of running terrorist trainining camps in its part of Kashmir.

Kashmir is divided between the two nuclear rivals but claimed in full by both. The two countries have fought two of their three wars over the territory.

Meanwhile, Mukherjee ruled out accepting a US missile defence system.

"There is no question of accepting (a) missile shield from anyone," he said. "What we are interested in is developing our own missile programme and we are doing that."

The United States said last June that it was willing to talk to India about supplying missile defence systems.

"We are willing to talk to India about missile defence. Missile defence is very expensive. So it is not something that India will enter into lightly," US assistant secretary of state for arms control, Stephen Rademaker, had told reporters on a visit to New Delhi.

India and the United States last week signed a groundbreaking 10-year plan for military cooperation during a visit to Washington by Mukherjee.

India, a Cold War ally of the Soviet Union, has recently moved closer to the United States.

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