Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's cabinet committee on security (CCS) met in the evening to discuss further diplomatic action against Pakistan following the December 13 attack on the parliament complex in New Delhi.

However, any final decisions were postponed by at least 24 hours in the absence of Defence Minister George Fernandes who was visiting frontline troops in Kashmir.

The two countries have been massing troops and armour on their border since India accused Pakistan's military intelligence of masterminding the parliament attack by Pakistan-based militants which left 14 people dead, including all five militant gunmen.

Fernandes told the Press Trust of India that India's array of missiles was "in position."

Fernandes did not elaborate but media reports said the army had moved batteries of its surface Prithvi (Earth) missiles from their distant southern Indian facilities to the border with Pakistan in northern Punjab state.

The missiles have a range of 150 kilometres (93 miles) and are capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

India and Pakistan came out of the nuclear closet with a series of tit-for-tat underground tests in May 1998.

An Indian army soldier keeps vigil at the Indo-Pakistan border at Siachen, at over 7.000 meters of altitude, 25 December 2001. India and Pakistan have been massing troops and armour on their borders since India accused Pakistan military intelligence of masterminding the December 13 attack on the national parliament which left 14 people, including the five attackders dead. AFP Photo - Copyright 2001

Meanwhile, Indian security forces on Wednesday claimed they killed 16 Pakistani soldiers and destroyed 19 bunkers in heavy retaliatory fire across the de facto border in Indian-controlled Kashmir, the United News of India (UNI) reported.

Pakistan said the report was baseless.

"It's totally baseless," said a Pakistani military spokesman. "Not a single Pakistani soldier has embraced shahdat (martyrdom). They are safe and sound."

Highly-placed defence officials said that the Indian army had started laying mines in half-a-dozen frontier areas in parts of southern Kashmir along the border areas where hundreds of civilians have started fleeing their homes.

The area mined will also be protected by artillery and heavy weaponry.

Official sources said Wednesday's CCS meeting had considered downgrading the Pakistani embassy in India, withdrawing most-favoured-nation trade status and banning the Pakistani international carrier from Indian air space.

India has already recalled its ambassador in Islamabad and announced the termination of cross-border bus and rail links from January 1.

Pakistan has denied any involvement in the parliament attack and a senior government official in Islamabad said the United States was working hard to ease tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours.

"There is a flurry of telephone calls daily from across the Atlantic to defuse the tension," the official told AFP, on condition of anonymity.

India has demanded that Islamabad act against two militant groups -- Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad -- blamed for carrying out the parliament attack.

Pakistan has already frozen Lashkar's assets and on Tuesday said it had arrested the founding head of the Jaish group, Maulana Masood Azhar.

However, the public response from New Delhi has been dismissive.

"The kind of trickery such as changing names, simply changing headquarters from one place to another and the cosmetic seizure of assets is really to make a mockery of the gravity of the situation," Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh told reporters after the CCS meeting.

India on Wednesday called off its annual January 15 army parade, saying it could not spare troops now deployed on the border.

Vajpayee said Tuesday that India was being pushed towards a war with Pakistan, while Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf said his military was fully prepared to face all challenges.

All rights reserved. � 2001 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.

Related Links
SpaceDaily
Search SpaceDaily
Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only