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Pakistan to Announce New Steps to Combat Islamic Militants
Monday, January 7, 2002
By Erik Eckholme
The New York Times

Pakistani officials say they have been frustrated by India's vague, growing demands and refusal to acknowledge the genuine and politically difficult steps Mr. Musharraf has already taken to reign in militants.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- NYT
Urging restraint on both India and Pakistan, Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain flew here from New Delhi today to meet with President Pervez Musharraf, who restated his opposition to terrorism and said he would spell out the steps Pakistan plans to take to fight extremists in a speech in the next few days.

Those steps, in addition to further restrictions on militant groups, could include bans on hate speech at Muslim schools and an end to open fund-raising for Islamic militants, officials said.

Western diplomats and Pakistani officials hope that the speech, which could be delivered on Wednesday or Thursday, will provide a basis for scaling back the buildup of military forces along the border and starting talks aimed at ending the crisis between the nuclear-armed rivals that began Dec. 13 with an attack on India's Parliament.

But even after the visit by Mr. Blair, India's government again rejected calls for talks, charging that Pakistan had not yet proved its sincerity in cracking down on the militants that India blames for the Dec. 13 attack.
(More: The New York Times News Source)
2002 © The New York Times.

Dan