'If They Were Pressure Tactics, They Certainly Didn't Work'

Is Deputy Secretary Richard Armitage coming to India?
We have checked; no dates have been fixed and there is no official confirmation either.

Will he meet a new Foreign Minister?
I don’t have a crystal ball in front of me.

Are you holding your breath?
I am not; you can see I am breathing freely. (Laughs)

The US and UK have diluted their advisories; there were speculations that their advisories wereaffecting our economy. Any comment on that?
Well, first of all, it’s a matter that they have decided and they will have to implement. As far as theissue of advisory is concerned we have always stressed from the very beginning that we never saw any need forthe issue of these advisories and that India is a perfectly safe place for foreigners, it always has been andit will continue to be not only for the people visiting the country but for people to do business in thecountry and people to stay here with their families. India has been a safe and secure place and from the pointof view of the Government, from the point of view of the people, from point of view of the business community,the various institutions, the media, India is a very very friendly place. The facts speak for themselves herethat India is a safe and secure place.

But were these advisories affecting our economy?
I wouldn’t like to enter into a deep assessment of this. I think it is not for me to give you thatassessment. As far as these advisories were concerned our views on this were very clear from the verybeginning that we did not see them as warranted in the first place. There has been really no disruption at anytime to the lives of any foreigners living here regardless of the country to which they belong.

Was it a pressure tactic?
Well, if they were pressure tactics, they certainly didn’t work. If they were designed to exert pressure Idon’t believe you have seen the effect of that.

But tensions have eased..
Tensions have eased because we understood from our interlocutors (the US and the UK) that Pakistan has madecertain pledges to put a permanent end to terrorism and we had correspondingly taken some measures in responseto that. From India’s side there have never been any indications that we were inclined to raise tensions orto provoke conflict in this region. The pressure if at all, it has to be exerted, has to be on Pakistan todeliver on the pledge it has made because it is only through such deliverance on that pledge, on thecommitment, on the assurance that it has made that we will see tension being reduced in the region.

You said that the advisories were unwarranted…Prime Minister said that we were close to a war…
I said the advisories were not warranted. There is a difference between the two. Close to a war was afterKaluchak, after the terrorist attack, and the provocation from the other side. That was totally related to theresponse that we felt necessary to the unprovoked terrorism from Pakistan. It has nothing to do with us beingbellicose or taking steps that in any way suggested that we were provoking war or conflict in our region. Wehad indicated our disappointment even at Almaty that these advisories shouldn’t been issued.

Would you welcome the revision of this advisory?
Well, I would say that foreigners are welcome to return and that we look forward to the families coming backand to their resuming the routine of their lives in India.

Home Minster has said that there are about 3000 Al-Qaida in Pakistan and that the infiltration has notstopped. Any comments?
The Home Minister has talked about infiltration, he said that still there is continuing incidence ofinfiltration and then he said that there are about 3000 Al-Qaida members from Afghanistan who could have comeinto Pakistan and could come into Kashmir. He mentioned that they could come. It’s not that he said thatthey are in Pakistan occupied Kashmir. He said that there are chances of Al-Qaida members coming into Kashmirand that we should be vigilant.