India worried about Bhutto murder fallout; suspends travel links

New Delhi, Dec 28 - Former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto's death cast a shadow of worry in neighbouring India that suspended its bus and train link with the country Friday amid concern that the elements that murdered her might try and create trouble here as well.

There was also worry about where the power centre in Pakistan now lay.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh chaired a top cabinet panel meeting to consider the security fallout of Bhutto's murder even as the government announced it was suspending all train and bus services to Pakistan, except for the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus between the two parts of Kashmir.

External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Defence Minister A.K. Antony, Home Minister Shivraj Patil and National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan were among those who attended the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) which lasted for about an hour.

'It was pointed out at the meeting that the main concern now was to keep a close watch on the activities of the jehadis (in Pakistan) to ensure they didn't attempt to foment trouble here,' official sources said.

It was also stressed during the meeting that India's interests should be maintained in Pakistan in the otherwise volatile situation exacerbated by Bhutto's slaying Thursday.

'The meeting also assessed whether there was an element of the (Pakistani) establishment's role (in Bhutto's killing). There have been various suggestions in the media about this and we probably will never know the truth. It is the perception that matters,' the sources said.

In this context, the CCS meeting also noted that there were 'similarities' in the two explosions targeting Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's convoy in the recent and one that was aimed at former prime minister Shaukat Aziz when he was campaigning for a National Assembly seat.

As for the question of whether general elections would still be held in Pakistan on Jan 8, the sources said the general view at the CCS meeting was that more important than the polls, the question was where the power centre in the country now lay.

Asked whether India would reassess its engagement with Musharraf in Pakistan's changed political scenario, the sources said: 'We never had put all our bets in one basket. We put our own interests first. We had been talking to other players like Benazir Bhutto and (former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and other opposition leaders also.'

Asked why there was no Indian representation at the funeral, the sources said this was because it was a 'personal affair'.

Meanwhile, it is learnt that soon after news came in about Bhutto's assassination Thursday, Indian Army chief Gen. Deepak Kapoor briefed NSA Narayanan on the security scenario on the border with Pakistan and the measures being taken to prevent any '(border) incidents'.

(c) Indo-Asian News Service

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