By Manish Chand, IANS
On Board Air India One : India Sunday said it was “deeply worried” about instability in Pakistan in the aftermath of the declaration of emergency as the political turmoil there could lead to an increase in militancy.
New Delhi also underlined that it has “tightened” its borders and is on guard against the prospect of stepped up militancy from across the border, but was hopeful that its peace process with Pakistan that began nearly three years ago will not be affected in the long run.
“We are very worried about what is happening in Pakistan. Our prime minister (Manmohan Singh) has consistently maintained that we want a stable Pakistan,” National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan told reporters aboard the prime minister’s special aircraft on the way to Moscow.
Manmohan Singh later arrived in Moscow on a two-day visit for talks with President Vladimir Putin.
“We want a stable Pakistan. But more importantly, an unstable Pakistan means increased problems and aggravated militancy within our borders,” he said when asked about India’s reaction to developments in the neighbouring country following President General Pervez Musharraf’s Nov 3 decision to declare a state of emergency.
“We have tightened our borders tremendously. We are all aware of the fact that however tight the border may be – it is not just the Line of Control (LoC) but there are sea borders and various other borders with other countries. Therefore, the possibility that there will be increased infiltration across these various borders looms large in our perception,” Narayanan said.
“It is a matter of fact the last few weeks have seen an increase in militancy in Jammu and Kashmir. However, we are proud that there was a decline in militancy in the previous years.
“So, in short, we are concerned. We are doing our best to tighten our borders but are on our guard,” Narayanan said.
Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon, who was previously the country’s envoy in Islamabad, said, “India was hopeful of a peaceful transition in Pakistan as a peaceful and stable Pakistan was in everybody’s interest.”
He stressed that regardless of who was in power in Pakistan, India will continue its peace process with it.
“For us, a process of improvement in our relationship in the last three-four years is very important. We would like this process to be carried forward,” Menon said.