India on Saturday said Pakistan was trying to whip up "war hysteria" and asked Islamabad and leaders there not to create tension.
BERHAMPORE: India on Saturday said Pakistan was trying to whip up "war hysteria" and asked Islamabad and leaders there not to create tension and deflect the issue of
the Mumbai terrorist attacks.
"A lot of issues are being raised in relation to the Mumbai terror attacks. It is unfortunate that an atmosphere has been created in Pakistan, some sort of war hysteria,"
External affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee said while addressing an international seminar of Parsi teachers here.
"I appeal to Pakistan and Pakistani leaders, do not unnecessarily try to create tension. Do not try to deflect the issue. A problem has to be tackled face to face. Evading a
problem will not help to get rid of it," he said.
"The issue is not the defence of Pakistan, the issue is not war, the issue is the terrorist attack on Mumbai, the unprecedented scale, magnitude, ferocity as well as audacity
all clearly demonstrated that it was not only preplanned, but also well planned," he said.
"The issue is how to prevent terrorism. The issue is how to direct the international community to face the terrorist challenge and eliminate terrorism from the face of the world," he said.
The fight against terrorism, he said, was not directed at any country, nation or religion. "The issue is how to prevent terrorism and against the mentality which gives birth to
terrorism, and against the set-up that aids terror."
Mukherjee said that terrorism has no religion and no respect for borders.
"Terrorism is not linked to a particular religion or community. I totally reject such an idea. Islam propagates love and affection."
Referring to his meeting with Saudia Arabia's foreign minister Saud Al-Faisal on Friday, the minister said that both countries spoke in the same voice against terrorism. Saud Al-Faisal had condemned terrorism and said that it was a global issue and a global phenomenon, Mukherjee said.
It was the responsibility of the international community and all countries to face the challenge of terrorism and eliminate it, he said.
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