On the eve of his visit to New Delhi and Islamabad, US Secretary of State Collin Powell on Tuesday said India and Pakistan will have to pull back. He however, ruled out any chances of a nuclear confrontation in the sub-continent. He said conflict between India and Pakistan has stabilized in recent days but an armed conflict could not ruled out until there was mutual troops pullback.
"We need India and Pakistan to pull back. We need to reduce the possibility that something could spark conflict between the two sides," He told the media. Powell said that there is danger of war every time two armies are on hair trigger alert.
On Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf`s speech on Saturday, he said it has improved the prospects for progress when he travels to the region.
"I think we will have quite a bit to work with in discussions with both sides," He commented in separate interviews with two cable television networks. Musharraf, the secretary of state said, should be praised for declaring that extremism and terrorism have no place in Pakistani society and for calling Islam a religion of peace and tolerance.
Meanwhile, senator Joseph Lieberman said that he was encouraged by India`s favourable responses thus far to Musharraf`s principled statement.
He also urged both countries to pull back their troops from the border so that an accident or an extremist act does not start a war. He urged President Bush to immediately send a high-level envoy to the region to help seize the moment of opportunity between India and Pakistan. Bureau Report