Snap all links with terrorism, Vajpayee tells Pakistan

Kicking off BJP?s poll campaign, PM asked Pak to snap all terror links if it wanted better ties with India.

Voicing concern over regrouping of Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Tuesday asked Pakistan to change its policy and snap all links with terrorism if it wanted to improve relations with India.

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"Al-Qaeda and Islamabad do not like India's role in rebuilding of war-ravaged Afghanistan and want us to keep away from there so that Pakistan can get involved," he told an election rally here.

"Pakistan has to change its approach and break all bonds with terrorism if it wants friendship with India for which his government has already extended its hand," he said observing that Punjab too had witnessed stepped up terrorism but it was crushed by the government and the people.

"Reports have come that Al-Qaeda is regrouping in Afghanistan. We are concerned about it," he said, while contending that India had a hand in liberation of Taliban- ruled Afghanistan.