By Kerry Boyd
Global Security Newswire

WASHINGTON — Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said yesterday he had information that India might have conducted or might soon conduct a nuclear test explosion.

 “Some information, some news even of maybe a possibility of a nuclear test is most untimely, and may I also say provocative,” Musharraf said in a Washington briefing sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson Center and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (see GSN, Feb. 11).

Musharraf has no conclusive evidence to prove India is considering such a test but has shared his information with U.S. authorities, he said.

When asked whether the two rivals could fight a limited, conventional war without escalating to nuclear conflict, Musharraf said only that even a non-nuclear war would be expensive (see GSN, Jan. 17).  Both countries face poverty and economic development challenges, so neither should initiate a war, he said.

The initiation of a nuclear conflict is unthinkable, he said, adding that both India and Pakistan must act responsibly.

Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today denied Musharraf’s statement regarding Indian nuclear testing, saying it was an attempt to mislead the world, the Press Trust of India reported (see related GSN story, today).

India has no intention to test nuclear weapons in the near future and will abide by its moratorium on nuclear testing, Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh said in an interview in Monday’s Financial Times (see GSN, Feb. 11).  India and Pakistan last conducted nuclear tests in 1998.

Musharraf planned to meet with U.S. President George W. Bush today to discuss a range of issues including economic assistance, military relations, Afghanistan and education, a senior Bush administration official said yesterday.

Mediation Needed

Any attempt to negotiate a lasting peace between the two countries must involve all the issues that they disagree on, including the dispute over Kashmir, Musharraf said.  Practical negotiations could not “sideline” the Kashmir issue.

“We expect sincerity and purposeful negotiations from India,” he said, but added that outside facilitation is necessary to seriously address the ongoing conflict.  “Bilateralism has failed,” he said.  Musharraf thanked U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell for helping ease tensions in the region (see GSN, Jan. 22).

Musharraf said he does not expect a solution to the conflict and Kashmir dispute in the near future.  “One needs to go step by step,” he said.

The first step is dialogue, he said.  Next, the countries must accept that Kashmir is central to India-Pakistan relations, then eliminate whatever either country views as unacceptable and finally reach a solution.

Dealing with Terrorism

Musharraf described his vision for creating a liberal, tolerant, progressive, Islamic — but not theocratic — state in Pakistan.  A major step toward that vision is curbing religious extremism and sectarian violence, he said.

Musharraf said he has already taken several actions to end terrorism, including:

*         Banning several extremist parties (see GSN, Jan. 4);

*         Reforming the madrassas, Islamic religious schools, and

*         Issuing instructions to control the “misuse of mosques for activities other than religious activity.”

The majority of the Pakistani public has welcomed these actions and Musharraf’s condemnation of terrorism in his Jan. 12 speech, he said.

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