Version imprimableOn its part, the government of India must stop whipping up war hysteria and Army officials must not be allowed to make provocative announcements to the media. War of any kind is not an affordable or acceptable option to the people of either India or Pakistan. Both countries must be prevented from going to war and pressurised to return to the negotiating table.
There is absolutely no need for any third party intervention, and least of all American intervention, in the bilateral affairs of India and Pakistan. We call upon the Vajpayee government to reverse its present policy of weakening diplomatic relations with Pakistan in the name of mounting a diplomatic offensive. India must restore direct and full-scale diplomatic ties with Pakistan and stop treating the US as the arbiter of Indo-Pak relations.
We appeal to the peace-loving people of both India and Pakistan to oppose the forthcoming visit of Colin Powell, the self-appointed American mediator, to our subcontinent. In India CPI(ML) will organise countrywide Powell-Go-Back demonstrations on January 18.
CPI(M-L) General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, January 13
