Monday, October 18, 1999 Published at 09:19 GMT 10:19 UK
World: South Asia
India cautious over Musharraf speech
General Musharraf leaves the television centre where he gave his speech
By Delhi Correspondent Daniel Lak
There will no doubt be a certain sense of relief in Delhi that the Pakistani military dictator, General Pervez Musharraf, is trying to sound like a pragmatic moderate in his latest speech.
Immediately after the general's nationally-broadcast address and his offer to withdraw unilaterally some Pakistani forces from the international border between the two countries, Delhi said it would wait to see what steps were actually taken on the ground.
Indian analysts also point to General Musharraf's robust re-assertion of Pakistan's long-standing pledge of moral, political and diplomatic support to Kashmiri Muslim separatists as a sign that nothing looks set to change in Kashmir.
India's policy of watching what General Musharraf does, rather than reacting to what he says, may be a wise one.
There is a feeling here that only a right-of-centre nationalist or overt military regime can actually make political compromises on the Kashmir issue.
Equally, India feels that a military regime in Islamabad faced with continued social and economic disorder would also be tempted to raise cross-border tensions as a way of distracting an angry Pakistani populace.
That is why Delhi has little to say for the moment and is leaving its armed forces on alert whatever General Musharraf might say.