The Hindu : National : Rajnath for joint India-U.S. sanctions on Pakistan

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Rajnath for joint India-U.S. sanctions on Pakistan

Meena Menon

“Since India acknowledges the U.S. as a strategic partner, it should work with the U.S. to impose joint sanctions”

MUMBAI: Bharatiya Janata Party president Rajnath Singh has called for the U.S.and India to jointly impose economic sanctions on Pakistan.

At a press conference on Monday, Mr. Singh said war must be the last option after all other alternatives were exhausted.

Advocating decisive action against Pakistan after the Mumbai terror attacks of November 26, he said every terrorist action in India could be traced back to Pakistan. However, Pakistan was not helping India to solve the issue, as it was in a denial mode. Even the U.N. Security Council’s ban on Jamat-ud-Dawah was not implemented effectively.

“Since India acknowledges the U.S. as a strategic partner, it should work with it to impose joint sanctions on Pakistan. It’s not enough to cancel some official trips and call off the cricket tour. India should dissociate itself from the joint terror mechanism and have no trade or commerce relations with Pakistan,” he said adding diplomatic initiatives had been inadequate so far.

“India should frame charges and identify the masterminds in the ISI, Lashkar-e-Taiba or Jaish-e-Mohammed in the latest terror attack. The case should be tried at the International Criminal Court at The Hague.”

Since the terrorists came from the sea, Mr. Singh said the government should also think of a naval blockade. He said the government should not send confusing signals or hype up the issue of going to war. “The people of this country expect something. Though we have agreed to support the government, it is not a blank cheque. The government must act,” he said.

“Pakistan has become a sanctuary to jihadi mercenaries and a cradle of global terrorism,” he said. “One cannot expect Pakistan to crack down on terrorists. The Indian government should take the international community into confidence and persuade them to launch a joint military action against terrorists in Pakistan, under the supervision of the United Nations Security Council.”.

Terrorism was not an election issue, Mr. Singh clarified. Though the BJP president called for war as a last option, posters put up by the party in Mumbai are already issuing a war cry. “People are angry, and they are expressing it in different ways, you must look at it like that,” he said.

However, Mr. Singh said the UPA government should not depend too much on other countries including the U.S.

“India is a sovereign country and has the right to defend itself. As far as proof is concerned there is conclusive evidence that Pakistan is responsible for this terror attack. The Pakistan government has also accepted that non-state players are involved,” he said.

On the election results in Jammu and Kashmir, where the BJP increased its strength from one seat to 11, he said the party was acquiring an influence right from the northernmost tip to the South.

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