Leaked cables reveal Indian Defence Minister AK Antony told the US that little had been done to shut down the camps. PHOTO: EPA
The latest set of?leaked US diplomatic cables showed that India alleged that there were 43 militant camps in Pakistan, including 22 in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, and that little had been done to permanently shut them down.
The allegation was made during a conversation in June last year between then US National Security Adviser General Jim Jones and Indian Defence Minister AK Antony, according to the cables released by WikiLeaks and published by Britain’s Guardian newspaper.
Indian army chief General Deepak Kapoor, who attended the meeting, said that Pakistan had raided the camps following the Mumbai attacks in 2008 but some of them had since resumed operations. Kapoor also told the US delegation that militants continued to infiltrate into Indian-administered Kashmir across the Line of Control and that it would not be possible without “some kind of assistance, and or/degree of support that is institutional”, the cable said.
He said India had improved its preparedness on the borders and estimated that about 15 to 20 per cent of those trying to cross the border succeeded. “If we can catch them, why can’t the Pakistani military,” he asked.
Jones, according to the read-out of the meeting, said he would take up the issue of militant training camps with Islamabad. At one stage during the meeting, he asked the Indian army chief about the prospects of upgrading India-Pakistan military talks to discuss Indian concerns. But the Indian defence minister Antony interjected, saying dialogue with Pakistan was difficult until it had acted against those responsible for the Mumbai attacks.
Pakistan has rejected Indian accusations that it continues to support militants fighting Indian rule in Kashmir and instead sought talks to resolve the long-running dispute over the Himalayan region. It has, however, acknowledged that the Mumbai attacks was plotted and partly launched from its soil and put seven suspects linked to the Laskar-e-Taiba group on trial.
India says it is not satisfied with the pace of the Pakistani investigation. Jones said the worst thing for the region would be another Mumbai-style attack and that “we cannot let the terrorists play us off against each other”.
The two sides also discussed Afghanistan, where New Delhi said it had a vital stake and the international operation must succeed “because India cannot imagine for a moment a Taliban takeover of its extended neighbour”. India, along with Russia and Iran, supported the Northern Alliance faction during the civil war in Afghanistan is deeply suspicious of any dialogue with the Taliban, which it sees as closely tied to Pakistan.
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