Pranab Mukherjee said no compromise was made by agreeing to delink dialogue from action against terrorism. "Talking does not mean surrendering," he said.
Insisting that the India-Pakistan joint statement issued at Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt did not amount to altering the country's basic foreign policy, the government today distanced itself from the mention of Balochistan in it, saying it was a 'unilateral' perception of Pakistan to which India does not subscribe.
Intervening in a debate on the joint statement issued after a meeting between prime minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart, Yousaf Raza Gilani, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee maintained that no compromise was made by agreeing to delink dialogue from action against terrorism by Pakistan.
"This is unilateral reference and when you describe [something] as unilateral, [it means] we are not a party to it. This is Pakistan's perception. It is not shared by us," he said.
Mukherjee faced a strong attack from the BJP and other opposition parties, who voiced concern at the mention of Balochistan in the joint statement and wanted the government to say why it agreed to include it.
Describing Balochistan as an "internal problem" of Pakistan, Mukherjee said India has nothing to do with it as it does not believe in exporting terrorism. "We are victims of terrorism. We don't export terrorism to any country, nor do we have any intention to do [so]. It is against our principles," he said.
Replying to the debate, external affairs minister SM Krishna said, "We readily agreed [to include Balochistan] because we have nothing to hide. Let them come and see."
Leader of the opposition LK Advani described the argument as strange and led a walkout of the National Democratic Alliance. The Samajwadi Party and the left parties also followed.
Advani argued that if India had nothing to hide, it should have objected and that objection should have been mentioned in the joint statement.
He expressed concern at the mention of Balochistan for the first time in any joint statement even as he noted that Pakistan's accusations of Indian interference in Balochistan, levelled for long, were "absurd and bunkum".
He said a section of the Congress was unhappy with the mention and even experts have expressed dissatisfaction at the prime minister's explanation of the issue.
"After the prime minister's address, you have nothing to say and it is pointless to participate in the discussion," Advani told Krishna, who was cornered by opposition members who were seeking answers on Balochistan.
Earlier, Mukherjee, former external affairs minister, made a strong defence of the government on the statement, asserting that there was no question of compromising India's position on the issue of terrorism.
He reminded the BJP that even the previous NDA government had continued to hold talks with Pakistan since 1999 despite disruptions caused by terror attacks. "Talking does not mean full-fledged dialogue. Talking does not mean surrendering," Mukherjee said, while objecting strongly to the opposition's charge that the basics of the country's foreign policy have been altered.
Underlining that India will have to remain engaged with Pakistan while pursing "zero tolerance" for terrorism, he said, "We cannot erase Pakistan. Pakistan is going to exist... War mongering is not the way. War is no solution."
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