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CNN Sunday Morning
U.S. Battle Against Terrorism Causes Frustration in India
Aired November 04, 2001 - 07:37 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN ANCHOR: Defense Secretary Rumsfeld will be walking a political tightrope of sorts as he visits Pakistan and India. India is concerned about what it considers terrorist activities in Pakistan, and India is frustrated over Pakistan's role in the U.S. battle against terrorism.
CNN's Senior Asia correspondent Mike Chinoy reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIKE CHINOY, CNN SENIOR ASIA CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's been more than a month, but the suicide car bomb in the disputed territory of Kashmir that killed 38 people on October 1 remains a defining moment in shaping Indian perceptions of the U.S. war on terror. India blamed Pakistan-based Islamic militants for the attack. One such group did claim, and then deny, responsibility. And for many Indians, the episode continues to fuel growing anger at what is widely seen as a U.S. tilt towards Pakistan.
VIR SANGHVI, NEWSPAPER EDITOR: We see Pakistan, rather, as the Americans see Afghanistan. We see Pakistan as a country from where lots of terrorists coming. A country that has terrorist training camps. A country that spreads death and destruction in India. So it strikes us as odd, many -- more and more Indians, at least, that you should have a war against terror, and you should be collaborating with people who we see as a source of terror.
CHINOY: The Indian sense of betrayal is especially strong because, in recent years, Washington and New Delhi, through an exchange of high-level visits, have begun to repair decades of strained relations.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: India, over the last two years, basically have (sic) moved towards an unprecedented relationship with the United States. And, in effect, had thought that it had turned the U.S. around in terms of subcontinental relationships, towards a tilt to New Delhi. And what's happened after September the 11th, essentially, is that that's been turned on it's head.
CHINOY: With violence continuing in Kashmir, more than a dozen people a day are dying in clashes between militants and Indian security forces. There is intense pressure on Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who sets off this weekend for high-level meetings in Moscow and the United States, to act tough. BRAHMA CHELLANEY, CENTER FOR POLICY RESEARCH: So with those pressures building on the prime minister and the government, and if there's a continuation of major terrorist attacks, in Kashmir or elsewhere in India, then I think the government may be pushed beyond the edge.
CHINOY: Vajpayee has all but ruled out meeting Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf, with whom he held a summit last summer, when both men attend the U.N. General Assembly next week. And many here are calling for harsher military measures against Pakistan, and using the U.S. campaign to justify their position.
SANGHVI: There is lots of evidence that many of the terrorists who operate in India have been trained in camps in Pakistan. So if the Americans of can take out Afghan camps, why can't we take out Pakistani camps?
Morally, the situation is identical.
CHINOY: The Pakistani authorities, who view the militants in Kashmir as freedom fighters would, doubtless, disagree.
Across India, though, such sentiments are widespread.
CHINOY (on camera): With the U. S.-led coalition already facing numerous strains, the last thing Washington needs is a major flare-up between India and Pakistan.
But with the government here losing patience with the Pakistanis, and increasingly frustrated by what it sees as an American double standard on fighting terrorism, that possibility cannot be ruled out.
Mike Chinoy, CNN, New Delhi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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