Indian PM justifies accord; BJP surprised by ‘policy shift’

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh reassured parliament on Friday that there would be no resumption of formal peace talks with Pakistan until Islamabad brought those behind Mumbai's attacks to justice.

 

'The starting point of any meaningful dialogue with Pakistan is a fulfilment of their commitment... not to allow their territory to be used in any manner for terrorist activities against India,' Mr Singh told parliament.

 

Despite his assurances that pre-conditions set by New Delhi for a formal resumption of talks remain in force, the immediate response of opposition MPs was a mass walkout from the house.

 

The opposition had demanded that Mr Singh clarify a joint statement he had issued the day before with his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani which stated

that action on terrorism 'should not be linked' to peace talks.

 

Sections of the Indian media labelled the statement a major climbdown, with The Mail Today running the frontpage headline 'PM Sells Out to Pak.'

 

The main opposition, the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said it remained 'surprised' and 'disappointed' by the apparent policy shift contained in the joint statement.

 

'We have conceded,' said opposition leader L.K. Advani, before leading the BJP walkout from the chamber.

 

The BJP said if resumption of dialogue was the result of the Gilani-Singh meeting then why the Indian government had taken eight months to

do so.

 

Mr Singh told parliament that Prime Minister Gilani had assured him that Pakistan would 'do everything in its power' to prosecute those responsible.

 

Cooperative ties

 

Mr Singh said India sought cooperative relations with Pakistan and engagement was the only way forward to realise the vision of a stable and prosperous South Asia living in peace and amity.

 

He said India was willing to go more than half way provided Pakistan created the conditions for a meaningful dialogue.

 

'I hope that there is forward movement in the coming months,' he said.

 

Mr Singh said he had discussed with Mr Gilani the present condition of India-Pakistan relations, its future potential and the steps that 'are necessary to enable us to realise the potential.'

 

The Indian prime minister said the joint statement issued in Sharm El Sheikh provided that action on terrorism should not be linked to the composite dialogue process, and therefore could not await other developments.

 

Reaction

 

Mixed reaction was witnessed in India over the outcome of Gilani-Singh talks with Indian media generally terming it a victory for Pakistan.

 

Print and electronic media especially mentioned the delinking of issue of terrorism from composite dialogue and inclusion of 'threats in Balochistan' in the joint statement as success for Islamabad.

 

The media was of view that in actual sense India had surrendered its eight-month-old condition of credible action against terrorists by Pakistan for any resumption of dialogue.The Left parties, including CPI (M) and CPI, welcomed the outcome of the talks and termed it a positive step.

 

They supported the decision that 'action on terrorism should not be linked to the composite dialogue process and these should not be bracketed.'

 

However, BJP leader Ravishankar Prasad said that the 'joint statement reflects no firmness by the Indian prime minister on the issue of terrorism.'

 

Occupied Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said 'the cordial meeting between the two prime ministers has become historical as both the countries have agreed to delink terrorism from India-Pakistan dialogue.'

 

'On an optimistic note, the two sides have agreed to discuss all outstanding issues between the two countries is a positive understanding, which will lead all of us towards an era of peace,' he said.

 

The Indian daily 'Times of India' in its editorial described the outcome of the Gilani-Singh meeting as a new beginning.

 

The meeting between Mr Singh and Mr Gilani on the sidelines of the NAM summit in Egypt has been a profitable one, it added.—Agencies