New Delhi, June 08: India today welcomed the pledge given by Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf to the United States about immediately and permanently Ending cross-border infiltration of terrorists into Jammu and Kashmir saying it was a step in the right direction. This is a step forward and in the right direction, External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh told US Secretary of State Colin Powell on telephone. Its implementation on the ground will be carefully assessed. Thereafter, as Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has already stated, India will respond appropriately and positively, Singh told Powell who telephoned him.
During the conversation which focussed on the evolving Indo-Pak situation, Singh said India welcomes the pledge that President Musharraf has given to US Deputy Secretary of state Richard Armitage about immediately and permanently ending cross-border infiltration, according to an external affairs ministry spokesman.
Armitage had held wide-ranging talks with Vajpayee and other leader yesterday and briefed them on his discussions with Musharraf in Islamabad on June 6. Singh said an irreversible end to infiltration requires that the infrastructure of support to cross-border terrorism within Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir be also dismantled.
Singh made it clear to Powell that India`s commitment to lasting peace remains undiluted. Bureau Report