New Delhi, Oct 05: India has taken serious note of the recent statements of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf on his country's nuclear capability which it feels he may be using to build up a case for a pre-emptive strike against India.
Government sources, who have read "more than the usual"
anti-India rhetoric in Musharraf's recent statements including
the one accusing new delhi of playing "dangerous" games in
Pakistan, Kashmir and Afghanistan, feel that it is the
General's latest "propaganda innovation" against India.
"They must know that we can retaliate in a big way and they should know that," Musharraf had told a Canadian newspaper Toronto Star.
"They (Indians) should never presume that they can do
things and they can go unchecked", he had said adding that the
"risk of full-fledged conflict with India can never be ruled
out on South Asia."
"However, what is dangerous is whether there will be a
conflict between India and Pakistan which can then lead on to
a nuclear exchange," he had said.
Musharraf's latest threatening references to his
country's nuclear capability give an impression that the
"General's fingers are restive to press the button on the
slightest pretext," the sources said.
They noted that Musharraf has threatened a number of
times, and subsequently denied, to use the nuclear bomb "if
war was imposed on Pakistan".
Bureau Report
