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General's speech was dangerous: Jaswant

Musharraf's televised address was "disappointing because it contained merely a repetition of some earlier assurances which remained unfulfilled", External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh told a press conference in New Delhi.

It was "dangerous, it involved belligerent posturing", which has led to "tensions being raised and not reduced", he said.

Singh said Pakistan had not taken any step to stop "the lethal export of terrorism" from its soil.

"Mere verbal denials" about the stoppage of cross-border terrorism are untenable as the situation on the ground is quite different.

Calling Pakistan the "epicentre of terrorism" throughout the world, the external affairs minister said the terrorists targeting India and other countries "have received support from the state structure of Pakistan".

The current war on terrorism would not be won decisively unless the base camps of terrorists in Pakistan were closed permanently, Singh said.

He said India would take all such measures that are necessary to safeguard itself against terrorist attacks.

Singh charged Pakistan with holding out threats of the use of nuclear weapons and terrorism simultaneously and asked the international community to take note of it.

"General Musharraf and many ministers of his Cabinet are talking casually about nuclear weapons... about nuclearisation of terrorism," he remarked.

Asserting that India continued to follow the policy of no first use of nuclear weapons, Singh said, "We are not talking of it [the use of nuclear weapons]."

Singh said Musharraf should act upon his international commitments to control terrorism. "His commitment is not only to India, but these are international commitments," the minister said.

His commitments are not essentially born out of United Nations Resolution 1373, but make it incumbent on Pakistan to abjure violence, stop infiltration of terrorists, dismantle terrorist camps and stop using terrorism as an instrument of state policy, Singh said.

Asked how much time India was ready to give Musharraf to fulfil these commitments, including handing over 20 terrorists and criminals, he said, "It will be difficult to specify time as sufficient time has elapsed" already in this regard.

He dismissed a question that due to recent developments, the Jammu & Kashmir dispute had become a trilateral issue.

Singh said India could not be "continued to be penalised for its patience". Every time it is attacked by terrorists, the world community tells New Delhi to exercise restraint while assuring that Pakistan will take steps to curb such attacks.

The minister said, "Let me share the concern India has. On October 1, 2001, the Jammu & Kashmir assembly was attacked. We were advised that Pakistan would take action to stop cross-border terrorism, so India should exercise restraint.

"Then came December 13 when Parliament was attacked. We were again told that we should exercise restraint," he said.

Referring to General Musharraf's January 12 speech, Singh said certain terrorist camps were shut down and several terrorists were arrested. "These camps have come up again. You know how many of the arrested persons have been released. Take the case of [Jaish-e-Mohammed founder] Azhar Masood. He lives in his bungalow and is paid Rs 10,000 every month from the Government of Pakistan," the minister said.

Then came the Kaluchak attack, he said, adding that all these instances showed that Pakistan had not lived up to its promises.

Singh said India was not "greatly impressed" with Pakistan's missile "antics". "They [the missiles] are either imported technology or imported hardware," he remarked.

Condemning Musharraf's remarks on Hurriyat Conference politician Abdul Gani Lone's assassination, Singh charged the Pakistani military ruler with trying to give a political colour to a "heinous crime".

Musharraf had rejected allegations that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence was responsible for the murder and said Islamabad wanted to know how the killers could vanish in thin air in the presence of thousands of troops and people.

Asked whether it would be easier for India to deal with a democratically elected leader in Pakistan, Singh remarked, "We have to deal with the world as it is and not as it ought to be." He said it was for the people of Pakistan to decide their leadership. However, the minister said, "We have always stood for democracy. We will be happy if democracy returns to Pakistan."

Singh refused to comment on the mandate secured by Musharraf in his referendum earlier this month, saying it was an internal matter of Pakistan.

To a question, Singh said the pressure applied by the United States and the United Kingdom on Pakistan had not yet worked. "It is not to my subjective satisfaction... What results we see on the ground are important," he said. "It is really for the US and the UK to assess for themselves as to whether their pressure is working because this was their stated objective to fight against terrorism," he said.

Asked whether Home Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani's statement that India will have to adopt "another strategy" to counter Pakistan's proxy war would mean war, Singh said the essence of what Advani said was that if a particular medicine was not working, another should be tried.

To a question, Singh said the suggestion that Musharraf did not have enough control over the terrorists was "intriguing". "You cannot have the support of 98 per cent of the people of Pakistan, as I am informed he had got in the referendum, and simultaneously claim that you don't have knowledge of what is happening in Pakistan," he remarked.

Singh recalled that Musharraf had "time after time" said that he was in full control of the affairs of Pakistan and that he believed in "unity of command". His allies also insisted that he was "fully in control". "These are contradictory assertions... You cannot have it both ways," Singh said.

PTI

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