The Hindu : PM speaks of Pak's territorial designs

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Feb 25, 2003

Front Page

Front Page

PM speaks of Pak's territorial designs

By Amit Baruah

KUALA LUMPUR Feb. 24. The Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, today accused the Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf, of justifying terrorism against India by talking of its "root causes". Mr. Vajpayee's comments in his address to the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit came soon after Gen. Musharraf spoke of "flagrant violations" of international law in Kashmir, Rwanda and Palestine. Gen. Musharraf introduced a contentious bilateral note into the multilateral forum. Later, when asked by this correspondent why he raised these issues while calling for a "dialogue" with India, the General did not provide a direct answer.

As other NAM leaders laid stress on Iraq and the need to use the multilateral route to resolve the crisis, Gen. Musharraf said the 116-member grouping should press for the realisation of "just causes" such as Kashmir and Palestine and "shun a selective approach" to U.N. resolutions. Calling on NAM to address the "root causes" of terrorism, Mr. Vajpayee's one-time interlocutor in Agra said, "We must not allow anyone to manipulate the fight against terrorism... Resolution of long-standing disputes as also efforts to address injustice... would certainly help this cause."

In a direct response, Mr. Vajpayee said, "President Musharraf has referred to my country a little while ago. His strange logic masks Pakistan's territorial designs on an integral part of India. He justifies terrorism against India by talking of its root causes. Does he go into the root causes of sectarian terrorism in his country? Or does he take stern action against the perpetrators of terrorism? He talks of the `oppressed people of Kashmir'. These same people recently cast their ballots in an election universally recognised as free and fair. They defied the bullets of terrorists, aided and abetted by Pakistan. "Those very terrorists assassinated candidates and political activists in the elections and killed women and children because they refused to provide them food and shelter. These terrorists continue to perpetrate violence against innocent civilians every day. Yet Gen. Musharraf talks of an international humanitarian order," Mr. Vajpayee stated.

As the India-Pakistan sideshow took place, Gen. Musharraf told presspersons that he had no intention of talking to the Indians if they did not want a dialogue. "Do they (Indians) want to speak to me, I would like to ask? If they want to speak to me, I will because I have tried my best in the past and I am not the only one who should keep trying. They should also try. If they don't want, I'm not too keen at all."

The Pakistani Foreign Minister, Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri, when asked if raising contentious issues at a multilateral forum helped, said, "If you (India) want dialogue, does it help to say beforehand and before going, before... arriving, you are not going to meet anyone (from Pakistan)?" Mr. Vajpayee, in his address, said that it was important for NAM to take a clear and unequivocal stand on the scourge of terrorism. "There can be no double standards, no confusion between terrorism and freedom struggles, and no implicit condoning of terrorism through an investigation of its `root causes'. There can be no justification for terrorism."

NAM should concentrate on issues that united rather than divided them. "In a Movement of 116 members, it is inevitable that there are some differences or even disputes among us. We would be losing time, energy and focus if we involved ourselves in these issues. This principle is accepted in the Charters and practice of successful organisations like the OIC and ASEAN. NAM's outlook and agenda have to be global."

On Iraq, the Prime Minister said that India, like every other non-aligned country, wanted a peaceful solution to the issue. "We also support the multilateral route of the United Nations to address this issue. But objectivity — and not rhetoric — should govern our actions. Weapons of mass destruction do need to be eliminated. It is essential that Iraq complies fully with the obligations it has accepted, including disarmament, and that it cooperates fully in implementing Security Council Resolution 1441. As a fellow member of NAM, this is our sincere advice to Iraq. We also expect that if Iraq fully complies, sanctions against that country should be lifted.

"We should also not lose sight of the humanitarian dimension of the suffering of the Iraqi people. Apart from the immediate consequences of military action, there are long-term implications for stability and security in an already volatile region," Mr. Vajpayee added.

P.S. Suryanarayana reports:

It's between the two: NAM chief

Malaysia, new chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement, has categorically affirmed that "the issue between Pakistan and India is between Pakistan and India''. It was also underlined that today's NAM summit "did not discuss the issue'' relating to a specific connotation of terrorism which prompted the leaders of these two countries, Pervez Musharraf and Atal Behari Vajpayee, to outline their positions on it in a cameo of combative diplomacy.

The NAM chairman maintained that the forum would turn its laser-beam focus on matters that "unite us (the member-states) on our commonalities''. The NAM's entire accent was on subjects that "do not divide us''.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page

Stories in this Section

PM speaks of Pak's territorial designs

Sonia assails 'divisive approach'

'Arrest VHP leaders under POTA'

5 Grammys for Norah Jones

Kenya upsets Sri Lanka

250 killed in China quake

Life-term for Maken's killer