NEW DELHI/ISLAMABAD (Islamweb & News Agencies) - India claimed on Tuesday that a war was being thrust on it by Pakistan, though it did not want a confrontation, as tension mounted between the two nuclear rivals across their border in disputed Kashmi.
Three Indian soldiers have been killed since Monday as India and Pakistan exchanged cross-border mortar and heavy machinegun fire. Indian officials said hundreds of scared civilians fled the area.
``We do not want war but war is being thrust on us and we will have to face it,'' Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee told a rally organized by the youth wing of his Bharatiya Janata Party on his 77th birthday.
Tension between the traditional foes has surged following a December 13 attack on the Indian parliament which killed 14 people, including the five assailants.
India, which blamed the attack on Pakistan-based Kashmiri separatist groups, recalled its high commissioner to Islamabad and ordered the expulsion of a Pakistani diplomat. (Read photo caption below)
The two neighbors have reinforced positions on either side of their border in Kashmir since the attack on parliament.
India's recalled ambassador to Pakistan said on Tuesday he did not rule out war between Islamabad and New Delhi, but added the situation was not irretrievable and there was still time for the nuclear-armed rivals to step back.
High Commissioner Vijay K. Nambiar left Islamabad for New Delhi on Tuesday, but not before warning the world of a possible escalation of hostilities between the two neighbors.
PHOTO CAPTION:
India's Ambassador to Pakistan, Vijay K. Nambiar, speaks with journalists at the Indira Gandhi International Airport during his arrival in New Delhi, India, Tuesday Dec. 25, 2001. Nambiar was recalled by the Indian government following a suicide attack on the Indian Parliament on Dec. 13, 2001, which India blames on Pakistani-based militants. (AP Photo/Str)
- Dec 25 1:30 PM ET