India denies refusing to help US

India denies refusing to help US

India will not allow the US to refuel on its territory

The Indian Government has denied reports that Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has turned down requests by US President George Bush for help with the military campaign in Iraq.

Mr Vajpayee was quoted in Friday's edition of the Hindustan Times newspaper as saying that President Bush had approached him three times on the issue.

No help was asked and none was offered

Yashwant Sinha

But External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha said no such request had been made.

And Mr Sinha told the BBC that India stood by its unequivocal opposition to the war.

No comment

According to the Hindustan Times, Mr Vajpayee said: "The US President George Bush has spoken to me three times saying that India must help the USA as Saddam Hussein had left him with no option but to go for the attack."

Anti-war protests continue in India

No details were given of the kind of assistance sought but India had said earlier it would not allow US planes to refuel on its airfields.

When the BBC contacted Mr Vajpayee's office on Friday, it would not confirm or deny the Hindustan Times report.

But later External Affairs Minister Sinha said the report was not true.

"No help was asked and none was offered," he told the BBC's Asia Today programme, in an interview to be broadcast on Saturday.

India has traditionally had good relations with Iraq. But it is also keen to have US support in its dispute with Pakistan over Kashmir.

Asked if India was trying to maintain a balancing act between the Arab world and the US, Mr Sinha said: "There is nothing wrong with being pragmatic."

"We are neither pro-US or pro-Iraq."

India has said the war on Iraq is unjustified but has otherwise been restrained in its criticism of the US-led war.

Domestic pressure

During the 1991 Gulf War the Indian Government allowed US planes to refuel on its territory.

Opposition parties have been critical of the Indian stance this time, with many arguing that it has not been forceful in condemning the attack on Iraq.

Soon after war broke out the Indian Government made plain its opposition to the US attacks.

Several protests were held on the ground although not on the scale of similar protests elsewhere.

But Indian Muslims have been vocal in their criticism.

Thousands protested in the capital, Delhi, on Friday.

"Indian Muslims consider the American attack on Iraq as an attack on Islam and humanity," Imam Bukhari said.

Several Indian families living in the Gulf have returned home although many others have chosen to stay back.

India is also worried about the fallout of the war on its economy.

India imports most of its oil requirements and any increase in oil prices is likely to lead to all-round price increases in the country.