US president George W Bush held a 20-minute telephone conversation with his Pakistani counterpart Pervez Musharraf Saturday evening to discuss the situation leading to the build up of troops by India and Pakistan at their borders. During the telephone conversation, Bush is reported to have expressed concern over the situation at the borders and he also appreciated efforts of Musharraf to defuse the tensions, the state TV said.
The two leaders discussed the overall situation that led to the tension between the two countries, it added.
Bush, who Friday said that the Indo-Pak tensions figured high on his agenda, has expressed concern to Musharraf over the volatile situation prevailing at the border as a result of massing of troops by both the countries. During his chat with the media at his Crawford Ranch in Texas, Bush said Musharraf has acted against certain terrorist groups and hoped that India would take note of it.
Pakistan foreign minister Abdul Sattar said Saturday that so far 50 activists of Jaish-e-Muhammad, which was blamed by India for the attack on Parliament have been arrested.
Sattar however clarified at a media briefing in Islamabad that leader of Lashkar-e-Toiba Hafeez Muhammad Saeed, who recently quit the post, has not been arrested.
India jointly blamed Jaish and Lashkar for the attack. Bush`s phone call to Musharraf followed reports that US also passed off evidence relating to the terrorist attack on Parliament.
Bureau Report