NEW DELHI, Oct 30 — Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has renewed his offer of talks with Pakistan, stressing that India’s nuclear-armed neighbour must crack down on terrorism.
“For a productive dialogue, it is essential that terrorism must be brought under control,” he said on Wednesday after inaugurating the first rail service in troubled Kashmir, the Himalayan border region whose ownership is at the heart of the dispute between India and Pakistan.
His offer is a toning down of his government’s earlier stand, which had ruled out any resumption of the peace dialogue with Pakistan unless it brought to justice those responsible for the Mumbai terrorist attacks in November last year. India suspended the peace dialogue with Pakistan after the deadly attacks. The Indian government has blamed the attacks on Pakistan-based militants.
New Delhi has been pressuring Islamabad to speed up the probe and trial of the Pakistani militants suspected to be behind the attacks, which killed 166 people.
“The terrorists want permanent enmity to prevail between the two countries. I call upon the people and government of Pakistan to show their sincerity and good faith. As I have said many times before, we will not be found wanting in our response,” said Dr Singh.
His latest peace overture came as US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was visiting Islamabad and the Pakistan army was engaged in a major military offensive against the Taleban.
The United States has been pushing the South Asian neighbours to settle the Kashmir dispute, but New Delhi has been wary of meddling by Washington.
In a thinly veiled reference to New Delhi’s charge that Pakistan was sponsoring cross-border terrorism in India, Dr Singh said the strategy of using terrorist groups for political purposes is wrong. “Eventually, they turn against you and bring destruction.”
Clinton echoed Dr Singh’s words in interviews to Pakistani TV channels ahead of her visit to Islamabad. The “violent extremism” that Pakistan faced “is a threat that could destabilise the entire region”, she said. She hoped there would be a resumption of dialogue between Pakistan and India.
Dr Singh’s peace initiative also comes ahead of his visit to Washington next month, when he will have the distinction of being President Barack Obama’s guest at the first official dinner after the latter assumed the presidency.
Dr Singh also urged Kashmiri separatist groups to shun violence and come forward for talks.
He reiterated his government’s willingness to hold talks with all separatist groups as long as they renounced violence.
“I believe that a new chapter is opening in the peace process in the state and we are turning a corner,” he told a news conference yesterday in Srinagar. — The Straits Times
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