Pakistan must 'avoid conflict' with India

Pakistan's army chief stressed yesterday the need to "avoid conflict" with India, days after he began moving troops toward the rivals' shared border as tensions rose over last month's terror attacks on Mumbai.
Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani's remarks were believed to be his first about the strained relationship and could reassure a jittery region that Pakistan does not intend to escalate the crisis further.
Kayani made the call during a meeting with visiting Chinese vice foreign minister He Yafei, who was dispatched by Beijing to Islamabad as part of an international effort to restore calm between the South Asian rivals.
"The army chief highlighted the need to de-escalate and avoid conflict in the interest of peace and security," Pakistan's military said in a statement following Monday's meeting in the garrison town of Rawalpindi near the capital.
Kayani's remarks followed an unscheduled weekend conversation between senior military officials from India and Pakistan over the hotline linking the two states.
The directors general of military operations (DGMOs) made contact after Pakistani officials said troops had been moved to the Indian border and leave had been cancelled for soldiers on active duty, sparking concern in New Delhi.
"The DGMOs talked to each other on the hotline," a Pakistani military official told AFP. He declined to reveal details of the discussion.
Relations between India and Pakistan deteriorated in the wake of the Mumbai attacks, which New Delhi has blamed on Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). A total of 172 people were killed, including nine gunmen.
Pakistani officials said last week that the military had redeployed a "limited" number of troops from tribal areas near Afghanistan, where they are fighting Taliban and al-Qaeda militants, to the eastern border with India.
On Friday, Pakistani intelligence officials said thousands of troops were being shifted toward the Indian border, though there has been no sign yet of a major build up at the frontier.
Without referring specifically to the tensions, Kayani "highlighted the need to de-escalate and avoid conflict in the interest of peace and security," a brief army statement said.
India blames Pakistani militants for the slaughter of 164 people in its commercial capital and has not ruled out the use of force in its response. Pakistan's civilian leaders have said they do not want war, but will retaliate if attacked.
Despite being under civilian control, analysts say Pakistan's army and intelligence agencies wield enormous influence on decision-making. Some say they are more powerful than the country's elected leaders.
Nuclear-armed Pakistan and India have fought three wars since 1960 - two over Kashmir, a majority Muslim region in the Himalayas claimed by both countries.