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Pakistanis display nationalism at Indian border
By SEBASTIAN ABBOT,Associated Press Writer AP - 34 minutes ago
WAGAH, Pakistan - Tanweerul Haq and hundreds of his fellow citizens raised their fists and shouted "Long live Pakistan," provoking an equally patriotic response from a crowd of Indians across the border.
The spectators cheered as guards from both sides engaged in an elaborate border closing ceremony conducted each day with the kind of pomp and exaggerated bravado that would fit more comfortably in a Hollywood comedy than in a real rivalry between two nuclear powers that have fought three wars in the past 60 years.
But the nationalist fervor at this border checkpoint straddling Pakistan and India is real and helps explain how tension between the two neighbors has increased following New Delhi's claim that Pakistani militants were behind the recent attacks in the Indian commercial capital of Mumbai.
Haq and other Pakistanis who observed a recent border ceremony bristled against the Indian accusations.
"India always blames us and the Muslims for anything bad that happens, but they haven't proven anything," said Haq, a 22-year-old engineering student from the central Pakistani city of Multan.
India says it has provided adequate evidence that the 10 gunmen who killed 164 people in Mumbai in November were Pakistani and had links to the Pakistan-based terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba. Pakistan has conducted a limited crackdown against the group but has demanded India share more evidence from its investigation.
Both countries have said they want to avoid conflict over the attacks. But India has not ruled out the use of force, and Pakistan has said it will respond aggressively if attacked. Pakistan recently redeployed troops from its border with Afghanistan toward India, which was seen as a warning that it would carry out its threat.
While Indian and Pakistani officials lob accusations at each other, the guards on the Wagah border engage in their own showdown, egged on by the hundreds of spectators who show up every day, even when tensions between the countries are relatively low.
The ceremony begins with a terse handshake between rival border guards _ a cold formality _ and ends when scowling men on each side lower their national flag and slam closed the border gate.
In between, the guards _ dressed in crisply pressed uniforms and hats topped with what look like giant fans _ take turns marching toward each other on opposite sides of the border, competing to see who can swing their legs the highest to show the soles of their boots to their rivals _ a grave insult in this part of the world.
The most animated displays of bravado are met with cheers of approval from the crowd. But the Pakistanis stressed they do not want to see conflict between their country and India over the Mumbai attacks _ supporting many analysts' views that war is unlikely despite the heated rhetoric.
"We want peace, not war, because war is a bad thing for both countries," said Irfanul Haq, a 44-year-old farmer from the northwest Swat Valley, where the Pakistani military has been waging an intermittent campaign against al-Qaida and Taliban militants who often launch attacks across the border into Afghanistan.
Haq said he was worried Pakistan's decision to redeploy troops away from the Afghan border because of tension with India would hurt the military's operation _ a concern shared by the U.S. and its Western allies fighting a resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan.
"The situation will get much worse in Swat if they leave," Haq said.
Adnan Shah, a 25-year-old student from a village near the Wagah border, said the troop movements also risk an unintended conflict with India.
"I think it is a bad thing to move more troops toward the border because any clash can start a war," said Shah. "I am against war, but if India attacks us, I will fight."
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