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Pakistan has betrayed India's trust: PM

Mukhtar Ahmad in Srinagar

Pakistan "has betrayed India's trust," Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee said today, adding that he had never thought his journey of friendship would lead to Kargil from Lahore.

Pakistan, the prime minister told a public meeting at Udhampur, had "waged aggression during the darkness of night." In an obvious reference to his telephone conversation with Pakistan premier Nawaz Sharief on Sunday, Vajpayee said, "they now want to cool down and save the situation from escalating."

In a reference to recent Pakistani statements on the Line of Control, he said "they did not mention this issue during my Lahore visit or at various diplomatic channels after both countries agreed to the demarcation in the Simla agreement."

"Our brave soldiers are ready to meet the challenge forcefully," Vajpayee said, adding, "the armed forces are fighting bravely in Kargil though the adversary has an advantage being atop the hills in rugged and difficult terrain.

He said during his visit to the Northern Command hospital on Monday -- where he met soldiers injured in the fighting -- he had met a wounded jawan in high spirits who "faced the bullets in his chest and not in his back."

"Our brave soldiers have halted their advance and are now pushing the intruders back," he said, and declared, "We will not rest until we clear the last post."

The Kargil Crisis

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