Indian Pilot Freed; Pakistani Leader Urges New Peace Talks

Pakistan’s prime minister freed an Indian fighter pilot Thursday whose plane had gone down over disputed Kashmir, saying he hoped to jump-start peace talks that were “in grievous danger of being derailed.”

Relations have deteriorated since India launched an offensive against Islamic rebels entrenched in the Kargil area of Kashmir, a Himalayan region divided between the two countries. The conflict has caused alarm around the world as Pakistan and India both have demonstrated their ability to build nuclear weapons.

“Nuclear powers should never be in a state of confrontation,” Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said. “We want to prevent any further escalation and to defuse the situation.”

India accuses Pakistan of backing the guerrillas in a bid to change the cease-fire line through the territory. Pakistan denies that and says it suspects India is using the guerrillas as a pretext for a larger operation aimed at seizing Pakistan soil.

Pakistan army officials estimate that India has deployed 30,000 soldiers to the Kargil mountains to dislodge 600 militants who infiltrated the snowy peaks last month.

Foreign Minister Sartaj Aziz said he hoped to meet with Indian officials in New Delhi on Monday to calm the tensions.

Toward that goal, Pakistan released an Indian fighter pilot it had earlier called a prisoner of war. Flight Lt. K. Nachiketa was handed over to the International Red Cross in Islamabad.