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Clinton asks Pak to pull out forces

US President Bill Clinton has called Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharief urging him to withdraw his forces from the Kargil sector of Jammu and Kashmir.

Clinton warned that no progress could be expected on the Kargil issue unless Pakistan-backed infiltrators and army regulars were pulled out of Indian territory.

His warning came a day after Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's statement that there was no possibility of talks with Islamabad unless the Pakistani forces moved out of Indian territory.

Clinton had praised India for showing restraint in this regard.

According to a statement issued in Islamabad, Sharief told Clinton that the Kargil conflict was ''one aspect of the larger issue of Kashmir, which cannot be isolated from the need for a just and final settlement of the Kashmir dispute''.

According to BBC , Washington usually goes out of its way to avoid giving the appearance of taking sides in the Kashmir dispute. But this time it is clear that Clinton believes that Pakistan can use its influence with the militants.

EXTERNAL LINK

Clinton intervenes in Kashmir dispute

The Kargil Crisis

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