India Leader: Prepare For War
Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee told soldiers on the disputed Kashmir border Wednesday to prepare for a "decisive battle" against Pakistan-supported Islamic insurgents.
Vajpayee was addressing more than 600 Indian soldiers close to the cease-fire line that divides India and Pakistan.
On Wednesday, Indian naval officials said they had moved five warships from the Bay of Bengal to its western coast in an effort to reinforce its maritime defense.
"The warships have been moved in view of the prevailing situation and in keeping with India's maritime interests," said Cmdr. Rahul Gupta, an Indian navy spokesman. The ships include a guided missile destroyer, a multipurpose frigate, and three corvettes.
The warships set sail two days ago and are about 500 nautical miles from the Pakistani port of Karachi near Bombay, officials said. India carried out similar shifting of warships during a 1999 conflict and in the 1971 India-Pakistan war.
Dozens of civilians and soldiers have been killed in the last five days along the frontier in heavy cross-border shelling that has reignited fears of war between the nuclear-armed rivals.
An Indian defense spokesman said one woman was wounded in the last day near Kanachak, west of Jammu, the winter capital of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, in the clashes.
The latest firing followed the killing Tuesday of moderate Kashmiri separatist leader Abdul Gani Lone, an incident that was expected to overshadow Vajpayee's three-day visit.
The spokesman said intermittent mortar firing was also reported on the Akhnoor, Rajouri and Poonch sectors overnight along the Line of Control.
Vajpayee asked the soldiers "to be ready for sacrifice. Your goal should be victory. It's time to fight a decisive battle. We'll write a new chapter of victory."
Vajpayee said India has been forced to fight a "proxy war" with Pakistan. New Delhi accuses Islamabad of training and arming the Islamic militants who have waged a battle for Kashmir's independence or merger with Pakistan for 12 years.
"The challenge has been thrown at India and we accept it," he said. "The world understands that there is injustice against us but does has not openly come out in our favor. Nevertheless, we will protect ourselves."
Vajpayee did not talk about what steps India would take. The tough talk by both India and Pakistan in the last week is typical of the South Asian nuclear rivals.
The 1 million troops dispatched by both countries to their border, however, is the biggest military buildup since their last war in 1971. They fought two other wars in 1948 and 1965 over the disputed Himalayan province.
Still, many analysts believe that with the U.S. military presence in neighboring Pakistan and Afghanistan, and Washington's efforts to defuse tensions, war may not be imminent.
In Srinagar, India, some 30,000 mourners joined a funeral procession for a slain Kashmiri separatist leader Abdul Ghani Lone Wednesday, shouting demands for independence.
"We want freedom!" the mourners chanted as they slowly walked from Lone's home to Martyr's Cemetery.
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