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Farooq warns of war with Pakistan

OCCUPIED JAMMU: The head of Indian-occupied state of Jammu and Kashmir said on Saturday there could be a "limited war" with Pakistan if it continued to support a 10-year uprising in the region.

"If they don't heed to our repeated requests to stop cross-border terrorism, next stage will be a limited war," Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah told Reuters in an interview.

"India has talked of peace with Pakistan, but also demands they give up cross-border terrorism," said Abdullah, who is at the centre of India's effort to quell the rebellion.

New Delhi could be pushed into waging a war against Pakistan to bring a decisive end to the Kashmir insurgency that has killed or maimed thousands, said Abdullah, whose regional National Conference party is part of India's federal coalition government.

"This time it (conflict) will solve the problem... India will have to take decisive action, destroy their military hardware," the chief minister said.

"This time the conflict will be more extensive," Abdullah said, insisting that a nuclear-armed Pakistan would not deter a much larger and more powerful India.

"I wonder if they can use nuclear weapons, they will be destroyed, there will not be anything left of them," he said.

Abdullah said the military takeover in Pakistan had exacerbated his problem in Kashmir.

"The wound of Kargil continues to bleed Pakistan...they feel by doing these "fedayeen" (suicide) attacks they can recover. The military take-over in Pakistan has also increased our problem."-Reuters