Anti-terror pact will test Pak, says Manmohan

NEW DELHI: India has put Pakistan on notice on terrorism, and the proposed Indo-Pak mechanism for counter terrorism would test Musharraf’s dispensation, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Wednesday.

The PM, who was speaking to senior military commanders, said no democratic government of India can continue with the peace talks unless Islamabad deals with terrorism.

“The India-Pakistan Anti-Terrorism Institutional Mechanism will be a test of Pakistani intentions and capabilities to implement the assurances that they have given us since January 2004,” Singh said.

The PM delineated the contours of his government’s thinking on Pakistan when he pointed out that “terrorist networks sustain themselves due to acts of commission or omission by states”. He said India’s strategy cannot be restricted only to the perpetrators of terrorist acts but “should also seek to modify the behaviour of states where terrorists find safe haven, sanctuary, and material sustenance”.

Singh said international terrorism is the principal challenge today to plural and democratic societies, and terrorists are becoming “increasingly sophisticated in the way they deal death and destruction”. The fight against terror has to be sustained and comprehensive.

Dwelling on defence acquisitions, he said, “Transparency in procurement is a desirable objective both from the viewpoint of good governance and national security.” He said reports critical of such processes can demoralise the services when they are untrue.