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Advani slams PM over indo-pak joint statement
LK Advani on Sunday said he saw “intense disquiet and concern among all thinking Indians, including a section of the Congress party itself” over the latest India-Pakistan joint statement issued in Egypt during the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit. Shekhar Iyer reports.
LK Advani on Sunday said he saw “intense disquiet and concern among all thinking Indians, including a section of the Congress party itself” over the latest India-Pakistan joint statement issued in Egypt during the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit.
The Leader of the Opposition said for the first time in the history of India’s diplomatic engagement with Pakistan “the Indian side has allowed Pakistan to mention Balochistan in a formal India-Pakistan statement, and that, too, in such a way that India is made to look like the sponsor of terrorism in Balochistan and in other areas.”
He added that Pakistan has succeeded in projecting itself as a “victim of India-sponsored terrorism,” while its the other way around. “Manmohan Singh is the first Indian prime minister who has squandered India’s diplomatic advantage over Pakistan…”
Advani demanded that India should suspend all official talks with Islamabad, including secretary-level talks, “until we get credible proof that the government of Pakistan has taken necessary action against the masterminds of the terror attack on Mumbai”.
India must seek the extradition of all those involved cross-border terrorism activities, such as Dawood Ibrahim, who has been given shelter in Pakistan, he said.
Advani, who spoke at Pune, said India must also insist on time-bound dismantling of the anti-India terrorist infrastructure based in Pakistan. “In this, we have admission from no less a person than Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari…” he said.
“My party has been the most spirited advocate of this policy of zero-tolerance towards terrorism. We have not taken this stand to gain any narrow political advantage. We do so because we know that the threat that India faces is grave.”
