PM says no US hand behind Pak terror pact

Arindam Sen Gupta / TNN / Sep 19, 2006, 00:05 IST

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Manmohan Singh on Monday insisted that the India-Pakistan joint mechanism for fighting terrorism deserved a shot.

PM says no US hand behind Pak terror pact

ON BOARD PM’S AIRCRAFT: It may have come in for some criticism back home in India, but Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday insisted that the India-Pakistan joint mechanism for fighting terrorism deserved a shot.
"We are worried about cross-border terrorism. But it’s no use condemning it and not doing anything. Wherever opportunities exist to take cooperative action to tackle this problem, to save human lives, we should toss all the balls in our quest for a safe and secure life of our citizens," he said.
The PM, however, seemed to agree that a lot is going to turn on the shape that mechanism may take."We will have to look at the mechanics of the move with due care."
Singh also brushed aside the suggestion that the two neighbours have been nudged by the ‘invisible hand’ of the US to go so far.

"I totally deny any insinuation that whatever was done with Pakistan is at the behest of the US or any other country. It is a question of our own sovereign national interest."
Senior aides of the PM said the mechanism will prevent the two sides from only wagging an accusatory finger at each other whenever there is a terror strike.
Said an aide, "You could call it a leap of faith. What we are saying now is okay, we are ready to exchange information (related to terrorists) through this institutional mechanism. We are willing to put the evidence on the table, let them deal with it."

Asked how is India hopeful now of Pakistan cooperating when in the past evidence provided to Pakistan has not yielded any result, the aide said, "Now we are not just passing some papers. We are now part of the mechanism. There will be 3-4 key people from our side in it who will monitor the progress." If after all this there is no tangible result, the mechanism will be wound up, he said.
Senior officials explained that terrorism was not viewed by the government only as terror attacks but a growing mindset that was exposing the sub-continent to grave risk. This risk was faced by both India and Pakistan and both sides realised it. "We need to be realistic. It’s high time," said an official.

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