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Britain pushes India military jet sale
LONDON, England -- UK Prime Minister Tony Blair has personally lobbied his Indian counterpart to buy British-made Hawk training jets despite on-going tensions between nuclear rivals India and Pakistan, Downing Street has confirmed. The sales pitch was made when Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee met Blair on October 12 at the British prime minister's Chequers country retreat. The deal, worth over $750 million, has been under negotiation for more than a decade and involves the sale of between 40 to 60 Hawk training jets as well as programs and spare parts from Britain's largest defense manufacturer, BAE systems. The admission over Blair's push for the arms deal is likely to draw some fire, with the Guardian newspaper reporting that several ministers and Labour backbenchers -- already unhappy over the close alliance between the defense industry and the government -- will press the prime minister over the jet sale. The pitch is also set to be criticized because it was made at a time when the crisis between Pakistan and India over the issue of Kashmir showed little sign of abating. Although New Delhi and Islamabad announced last week partial troop withdrawals along their shared border, both sides have left their forces along the Kashmir Line of Control on a virtual war-footing. (Troop pullback) The crisis over the Himalayan region saw the nuclear-capable neighbors edge to the brink of war earlier this year with over a million troops facing off along their border. The situation is still described by the British Foreign Office as "volatile". Deal defendedBlair's office has defended the intervention of the prime minister over the deal. "We make no apology for supporting a legitimate defense industry," a unnamed spokesman was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency. Other officials have insisted there is nothing wrong with the government promoting legitimate arms sales, the Guardian reported, saying the Hawk jets were for training only. However, the aircraft can easily be modified for a combat role. An Indian decision on the sale is expected soon. Critics say the Labour government has slowly moved away from its 1997 commitment to a so-called "ethical" foreign policy last year when its advocate, then foreign secretary Robin Cook, was demoted. Cook's replacement, Jack Straw, who has led several diplomatic missions to South Asia and has warned that the crisis could result in nuclear conflict, has supported the government's pursuit of arms sales. Flashpoint
Despite the troop withdrawal announcement, observers fear that another bombing or militant attack in India could push India and Pakistan back to the point of confrontation. The disputed region, where separatist militants have been fighting Indian rule for several years, has been a flashpoint between the two nuclear-armed neighbors for more than half a century. India accuses Pakistan of supporting Islamic militants who maintain terrorist training camps in Pakistan and continue to cross over and launch attacks into Indian-controlled Kashmir. Pakistan has denied the charges saying it only gives moral support to groups campaigning for the Kashmiri people's right to self-determination. India and Pakistan have fought two out of three wars over the Himalayan territory and more than 30,000 people have been killed since the militant separatist campaign began over a decade ago. Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has promised to crack down on militant insurgency, but Indian officials have said there is little evidence of any concrete action. New Delhi has maintained that it is willing to enter into dialogue with Islamabad over Kashmir but that this cannot take place until insurgency ceases.
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