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Alliance would increase pressure on Pakistan

United States Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage held talks with Indian leaders yesterday to encourage the unfolding peace initiatives between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan.

His visit came as India's national security adviser met US President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell in Washington and put forward the idea of a joint anti-terror security axis between the US, Israel and India.

Mr Armitage arrived in New Delhi on Friday night, just hours after India test-fired an air-to-air missile.

The missile test came as India and Pakistan embarked on a detente, with Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee saying two weeks ago he wants to resume dialogue with Pakistan.

Mr Armitage, who met Pakistani officials on Thursday, has praised the South Asian neighbours for their efforts at reconciliation.

Mr Armitage, who is travelling with Assistant Secretary of State Christina Rocca,  held talks with Indian  Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha before meeting opposition leader Sonia Gandhi.

He also met Deputy Prime Minister Lal K. Advani and was due to meet Mr Vajpayee later yesterday.

In Washington, Indian National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra pushed for an anti-terror alliance between India, Israel and the United States. The move was seen as a bid to increase the pressure on Pakistan to dismantle the Muslim radical network fuelling Kashmir's separatist insurgency.

Mr Mishra, regarded as  Mr Vajpayee's closest aide, told the American Jewish Committee in Washington  that India, the US and Israel 'have to jointly face the same ugly face of modern-day terrorism'.

'Such an alliance would have the political will and moral authority to take bold decisions in extreme cases of terrorist provocation,' he said. 'It would not get bogged down in definitional and causal arguments about terrorism.

'Blocking financial supplies, disrupting networks, sharing intelligence, simplifying extradition procedures - these are preventive measures which can only be effective through international co-operation based on trust and shared values.'

After proposing the anti-terror alliance, Mr Mishra had an unscheduled, 20-minute meeting with Mr Bush. He also held discussions with Mr Powell.

The idea for a US-Israel-India axis against terror is not new, but it is the first time that a top-level Indian official has openly proposed it.

Analysts see this as an attempt by India to utilise the current mood in Washington to push for stronger action against Pakistan for its support of the separatist Muslim insurgency in Kashmir.

Radical Islamic leaders in Pakistan have often talked about a 'Christian-Jewish-Hindu' conspiracy against Islam.

Despite President Pervez Musharraf's pledge to rein in the extremists, Islamic radicals in Pakistan have again issued calls for a jihad against the US, Israel and India. Islamist parties now in power in Pakistani provinces bordering Afghanistan are also reported to be assisting the revival of the Taleban.

These groups are strongly opposed to any compromise with India over Kashmir.

'We see worrying signs of a regrouping of Taleban elements in southern and south-eastern Afghanistan, and this is only a segment of the international terrorist network,' Mr Mishra told his Jewish audience in Washington.

'It [the war against terror] will therefore be a long haul, and its success would require a genuine commitment to its objectives by every member of the international coalition.'

Mr Mishra said that even after 18 months of 'the global fight against terrorism, it is far from over. The leaders of al-Qaeda remain at large'.

'We keep hearing that they have the know-how and the material to build at least a crude radiological device. This is naturally a matter of extreme concern,' he said.

'We cannot ignore the spectre of globalisation of terror and its intersection with weapons of mass destruction.'

Hailing the American Jewish Committee for its pioneering work, particularly in 'promoting human rights and combating religious discrimination', Mr Mishra said India also valued the committee's contribution to promoting US-India and India-Israel relations.

India, the US and Israel, he said, had some fundamental similarities. They are all democracies, 'sharing a common vision of pluralism, tolerance and equal opportunity'.

Stronger India-US relations and India-Israel relations had a natural logic. The increased contact between the American Jewish Committee and the Indian-American community, is 'another positive reflection of shared values of our peoples', Mr Mishra said.

Additional reporting by Associated Press



India proposes anti-terror axis with US, Israel