Reeling from blasts and BJP’s attack on UPA’s ‘soft’ approach to terrorism, Manmohan Singh sent out a tough message to Pak on Sunday.
NEW DELHI: Reeling from the Mumbai blasts and the edge they have given to the BJP’s attack on the UPA’s ‘soft’ approach to terrorism, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sent out a tough message to Pakistan on Sunday.
Singh said Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf must make “a firm commitment that Pakistani territory is not used to support terrorist acts directed against our country... but the commitment has to be backed by action.” He was speaking to reporters before leaving for the outreach session of the G-8 summit in St Petersburg, Russia.
Musharraf has time and again promised India of his commitment to act against terrorist groups like the Lashkar-e-Tayiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, and scattered outfits operating from PoK. But the attempts have, at best, been half-hearted.
The PM made it plain that the peace process with Pakistan cannot go forward if terrorist groups continue to attack civilians. Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran had said the same thing on Saturday when he said that leaders in a democracy cannot move ahead without the citizens’ support. The blasts have hardened public opinion against Pakistan.
The PM will spend much of his time in St Petersburg convincing world leaders, especially US President George Bush, that the time has come to act together against terror. New Delhi believes that if Washington puts pressure on Pakistan the rest of the world will follow.
While admitting to the need to upgrade intelligence and strengthen disaster management capabilities, the PM said he would not give in to the pressure from the BJP to bring back the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA). The anti-terror legislation, in place during NDA rule, gave police sweeping powers of arrest and detention. It was scrapped by the UPA.
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