US nudge led to Indo-Pak talks: Advani

But "no concrete outcome is possible till Pakistan abandons terrorism"

PTI | March 2, 2010



Accusing the Manmohan Singh government of making a U-turn on holding talks with Pakistan following US "nudge", senior BJP leader L K Advani has said that no concrete outcome is possible in any dialogue till that country abandons terrorism.

Terming the UPA's stand on Indo-Pak talks as a "self-inflicted insult", he said the only outcome that seemed to have emerged from the recent Foreign Secretary-level talks was that they will stay in touch.

"Our Foreign Secretary called the recently concluded meeting 'constructive' but her Pakistani counterpart ridiculed the meeting and said his country did not believe in 'cosmetic engagement' and did not want India to 'lecture' them by demanding that Pakistan should 'do this or that'," Advani said in his latest blog posting titled 'UPA's shabby approach to Indo-Pak talks : A self-inflicted insult'.

Taking a dig at the Government on the outcome of the talks, Advani said in his statement to Parliament External Affairs Minister S M Krishna described the meeting as constructive and useful.

"But the only concrete outcome that seemed to emerge from the 500-word statement was the Foreign Secretaries agreement to stay in touch," the BJP leader said.

He said India's "U-turn" on the issue of dialogue with Pakistan seems to be the upshot of "Washington's nudge."

The "firmness" shown by the NDA government in dealing with Pakistan bore fruits in the form of a joint statement in which Islamabad assured that it would not permit Pakistan or any territory in Pakistan's control to be used to support terrorism in any manner, he said. .

The Chairman of BJP's Parliamentary Party wondered whether the dialogue is linked with Pakistan abandoning terrorism, "or have the two been de-linked as was clearly said by our PM at Sharm-el-Sheikh?"

Advani said while in the Sharm-el-Sheikh joint statement, issued after Singh's talks with his Pakistani counterpart Yousaf Raza Gilani, "at least there was clarity; in this latest one, there is nothing but contradictions and obfuscation."

Advani said when terror stalks India, having no dialogue is a legitimate diplomatic option. The BJP had taken this line in its resolution on Jammu and Kashmir in the National Council meeting at Indore.

Referring to the Agra summit, Advani said when General Pervez Musharraf returned from the Agra summit in July 2001 he was "very angry" with the Indian Government for having invited him and sent him back empty-handed, without even a joint statement containing some "goody goody observations about Indo-Pak amity."

He said it was then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's uncompromising stand at Agra regarding cross border terrorism that fetched him "historical triumph".

"In January 2004 after the SAARC conference General Musharraf made a joint statement with Shri Vajpayee at Islamabad taking a position on terrorism absolutely different from the one he took at Agra, and assuring Vajpayee that he would not permit Pakistan or any territory in Pakistan's control to be used to support terrorism in any manner," he wrote in the blog.

Comments

 

Other News

Voter turnout: Drop from 2019 reduces further

As the voting percentages dropped drastically in the first couple of phases of the ongoing general elections, observers and analysts spoke of ‘voter apathy’ blamed it on a lack of “wave” this time – apart from the heatwave, that is. The latest figures after the fourth phase, h

GAIL reports annual revenue of Rs.1,30,638 crore

GAIL (INDIA) Limited has reported 75% increase in Profit before Tax (PBT) of Rs.11,555 crore in FY24,  as against Rs 6,584 Cr in FY23. Profit after Tax (PAT) in FY24 stands at Rs. 8,836 Cr as against Rs.5,302 Cr in FY23, a 67 % increase. However, revenue from operations registered a fa

Women move forward, one step at a time

“Women’s rights are not a privilege but a fundamental aspect of human rights.” —Savitribai Phule In India, where almost two-thirds of the population resides in rural areas, women’s empowerment initiatives are extremely critical for intensifying l

Why you should vote

What are the direct tangible benefits that you want from the government coming in power? The manifestos of various parties set a host of agendas which many times falls back in materialising the intended gains. Governance failures, policy lapses, implementation gaps, leadership crisis and cultural blockages

How the role of Ayurveda evolved pre- and post-independence

Ayurveda, Nation and Society: United Provinces, c. 1890–1950 By Saurav Kumar Rai Orient BlackSwan, 292 pages, Rs 1,400  

General Elections: Phase 4 voting on in 96 seats

As many as 17.7 crore electors are eligible to vote in the fourth phase of general elections taking place on Monday in 10 states/UTs. 175 Legislative Assembly seats of Andhra Pradesh and 28 Legislative Assembly seats of Odisha are also going to polls in this phase. Polling time in select as

Visionary Talk: Amitabh Gupta, Pune Police Commissioner with Kailashnath Adhikari, MD, Governance Now


Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter