President Pranab Mukherjee has said Pakistan has long committed itself that it will not allow its territory to be used by forces inimical to India, and therefore suggested that it has to take responsibility for non-state actors operating from its territory.
Speaking to Euronews, a local TV channel, the President said India had no option other than pursuing peace with Pakistan because of the imperative of living in peace with a neighbour. However, he quickly added, Pakistan must help in that process by dismantling all infrastructure used by terror outfits.
“Even if you concede that there was no direct state-sponsored terror coming from Pakistan, how do you explain so much terror emanating from non-state actors in their territory? They don’t fall from heaven,” Mr. Mukherjee quipped somewhat sarcastically.
The Pakistan government, he said, had responsibility to curb non-state actors spreading terror, pointing out that it had committed itself way back in 2004 to dismantling all terror outfits operating from its territory. Mr. Mukherjee hinted that any progress in India-Pakistan talks would happen only if Islamabad met that commitment.
