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DE RUEHNE #0876 1211250
ZNR UUUUU ZZH (CCY AD5D9DCE WSC4196)
O 011250Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6409
INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 7618
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 6305
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 3366
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 1706
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 6315
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEIDN/DNI WASHINGTON DC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 7953
RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC

UNCLAS NEW DELHI 000876 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
C O R R E C T E D COPY CAPTION 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER PK IN
SUBJECT: DELHI SAYS U.S. PRESSURE RESPONSIBLE FOR 
PAKISTAN'S ALLEGED TROOP DRAWDOWN 
 
¶1. (U) Indian press began reporting on 30 April that Pakistan 
was moving 6,000 troops from its border with India to fight 
the Taliban in the west.  The reports are based on an April 
29 New York Times article citing an unnamed Pakistani 
official.  One report also cited satellite images that it 
claimed confirmed the troop movement.  Although Pakistan has 
not confirmed such action -- and according to one source, 
Islamabad denied the movement -- the Indian press and Post 
contacts are attributing the move to "intense U.S. pressure" 
and interpreting it as "Pakistan's way of demonstrating to 
Washington its seriousness to take on the Taliban." 
 
-------------------- 
Indians Play Down Significance of the Possible Troop Reduction 
-------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) The External Affairs Ministry has not yet issued a 
statement and M.E.A. officials were unable to confirm whether 
the movement had taken place.  An M.E.A. Pakistan desk 
officer downplayed the significance of the alleged drawdown. 
While supporting  troop redeployments from east to west would 
certainly help Pakistan take on terrorism, he said, it does 
not necessarily mean much for tensions along the Indo-Pak 
border, where the 6,000 troops constitute less than 10 
percent of Pakistan's deployed forces.  He also commented 
that the Indian Government had not noticed a large buildup on 
the Indo-Pak border in the last five months after the Mumbai 
terrorist attacks; the minor changes there were due to normal 
military exercises and there was no reason why Islamabad 
would not want to make this move. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Indo-Pak expert and former Indian High Commissioner 
to Pakistan, Ambassador G. Parthasarthy, did not believe the 
Indian government would necessarily view such a reduction as 
a goodwill gesture by Pakistan and would be unlikely to offer 
praise.  The troop movement, which he claimed to have "some 
confirmation" about, is being seen as Pakistan's response to 
American pressure and a return to pre-26/11 positions. 
Offering a parallel analysis, Indranil Banerjie, Director of 
an Indian think tank focusing on South Asian conflict 
studies, said "6,000 troops are a drop in the ocean," 
indicating it would not be interpreted by India as a 
confidence-building measure.  A more significant confidence 
building measure would be a reduction in cross-border 
infiltration, according to Banerjie. 
BURLEIGH