There will be no war with Pakistan, says Indian Prime Minister

As nuclear-armed rivals square up, Atal Bihari Vajpayee insists his people do not want conflict but freedom from terror

Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the Prime Minister of India, has tried to quell international fears that a fully-fledged conflict could soon erupt between Pakistan and India. He declared that there will be no war between the nuclear-armed rivals.

But he coupled his remarks – during an interview with The Independent – with withering criticism of General Pervez Musharraf, the President of Pakistan, whom he portrayed as a "strong-headed" dictator, who is conducting "farcical" parliamentary elections and who has broken pledges to stop cross-border attacks in Kashmir.

Mr Vajpayee, aged 77, set off yesterday on a six-day European tour, which will include a meeting in London with Tony Blair on Saturday, in which the danger of meltdown in the region will be high on the agenda.

"There will be no war," Mr Vajpayee said calmly, as he sat in an elegant reception room at his heavily-guarded bungalow residence in Delhi. "Pakistan is a neighbouring country and we would like to develop normal relations, but whenever India has taken the initiative for a dialogue, its efforts have not succeeded."

His comments coincided with fresh international concerns that the two countries are steadily heading towards a precipice, similar to the crisis which began with a deadly attack on the Indian parliament in December, and which this summer brought the region close to potential nuclear war.

The daily violence that has swept through the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir during its four-stage state elections, which enter their final round today, is again driving up tensions. India says that Pakistan is trying to sabotage the poll by sponsoring militant attacks, in which hundreds have died within a little more than two months, including a state minister and three dozen party workers. Pakistan hotly denies the charge.

Relations grew still more edgy this weekend when Pakistan test-fired another missile, its Shaheen rocket, which has a 500-mile range and is capable of carrying a nuclear payload. Hours later, India responded by testing an Akash air defence missile.

One western diplomat gave an alarming picture of a region within a hair's-breadth of war. "Both armies are fully mobilised. The Indians could launch an offensive from a standing start. The rhetoric is getting very bad and we are worried that both sides are hyping themselves into war fever. And there is a total absence of any dialogue. That in itself is dangerous."

Whether Mr Vajpayee's latest comments will allay such fears is questionable. His aides insist he is in full command and makes the key decisions. But his critics have raised doubts over the extent of his control; there has been speculation that he is succumbing to ill health and old age.

During his interview, he spoke slowly, and softly. Occasionally, he seemed to suffer a lip tremor. His smooth-skinned, round and generally healthy looking features bear the marks of age. He wears a hearing aid, and has a heavy-lidded, slightly out-of-kilter left eye.

There was also little evidence of the orator's skills for which he is famed among his fellow Hindus, beyond his excruciatingly long dramatic pauses before answering. But he became more fluent and relaxed as he warmed to his theme. Britain and the United States have been pushing both sides to resume talks after the Kashmir and Pakistani elections are concluded this week.

Mr Vajpayee said India would be ready to resume dialogue with Pakistan on all outstanding issues, including Jammu and Kashmir, if General Musharraf stops cross-border "terrorism". His aides say India would be willing to settle for a "sincere effort" from Pakistan, as opposed to demanding 100 per cent success.

When he sees Mr Blair, after he visits Cyprus and Denmark, Mr Vajpayee will press India's view that double standards are being applied to the US "war on terrorism" , because it focuses on al-Qa'ida and Taliban, but does not extend to enforcing an effective crackdown on Pakistan-backed separatist Islamic militants committing attacks in Kashmir. India believes there are close links between these groups.

Mr Vajpayee's more moderate remarks were counterbalanced by the scorn he poured on Pakistan's elections. His genial, bushy-browed face flooded with amusement as he declared that "no one takes them seriously". General Musharraf has portrayed Thursday's poll as a transition to a civilian government under a prime minister. But his Indian counterpart scoffed at this, saying General Musharraf was "not interested in democracy or democratic values".

Mr Vajpayee's remarks were strikingly more restrained than the war-like utterances from powerful figures within his senior circle. A senior Indian government source told The Independent that the international community had failed to persuade General Musharraf to act to stop the bloodshed in Kashmir, where hundreds have died within the past two months, and it was "now up to India to deal with the situation as it thinks fit".

The source added: "No one wants a war with Pakistan, but everyone wants an end to cross-border terrorism. They [the international community] kept calling for restraint from us. We gave them eight or nine months to get Musharraf (to implement his promises), but unfortunately they did not succeed. There's a demand in this country that you should act on your own." Asked to elaborate, he replied: "All options are open. We are a very responsible government. We know what to do and when."

Among the more bellicose Indian voices has been that of Lal Krishna Advani, whose recent elevation to the post of Deputy Prime Minister has led to claims that the relatively moderate Mr Vajpayee is being propelled further to the right, under the influence of hardline Hindu nationalists.

Mr Vajpayee described his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as "middle-of-the-road" and said he saw no evidence of a rise of extremism in his government. Of his old friend Mr Advani, he said: "We have been colleagues for the past 30 or 40 years. We have worked together. We enjoy each other's confidence. And we have a cabinet system and a coalition government."