Zardari warns confrontation between India, Pak disastrous for war on terror

London, Dec 2 : President Asif Ali Zardari has warned against escalating tensions between Pakistan and India, and said any confrontation between the two would be disastrous for the global war on terror as this would sap his nation's effort against militants on its Afghan border.

"The architects of this calamity in Mumbai have managed to raise a threat on our other (eastern) border. As we have these people (militants) on the run along our western border (with Afghanistan), our attention is being diverted at this critical time," President Zardari told to a leading British daily from Islamabad.

Pakistan is worried that suspected foreign involvement in the terror attacks on Mumbai will lead to a sharp deterioration of relations with India, The News quoted the British daily, as saying.

Deepening hostility between the two adversaries could lead Pakistan to defend its border with India more heavily.

While noting that the two nuclear-armed states have fought three wars, it said the ushering in of Zardari's government had held promise of an easing of tensions and an acceleration of confidence-building measures to secure a lasting peace.

The paper further said a war on two fronts would put great strain on Zardari's democratic government, which is trying to rescue the country from near bankruptcy while also resisting a terror threat.

Zardari warned that provocation by rogue "non-state actors" posed the danger of a return to war between the nuclear-armed neighbours.

"Even if the militants are linked to Lashkar-e-Toiba, who do you think we are fighting?" asked Zardari, whose country is battling al-Qaeda and Taliban militants on its border with Afghanistan.

ANI