Pakistan helped avert war - Indian PM

The Indian prime minister said Pakistan’s guarantees - not pressure from the United States - helped avert a war with its longtime South Asian rival, a newspaper reported today.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee indicated that New Delhi had given up the option of an armed conflict with Pakistan after a tense, six-month face-off in which one million soldiers of the nuclear-armed neighbours have been deployed along the border.