No shift in stance on terror, insists govt

Arindam Sen Gupta / TNN / Sep 18, 2006, 00:03 IST

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Foreign secretary-designate Menon has maintained that there has been no shift in India's stance on terror. Though he seemed clear that the experiment deserved a try.

No shift in stance on terror, insists govt

HAVANA: The India-Pakistan institutional mechanism on terrorism, set up on Saturday by PM Manmohan Singh and President Pervez Musharraf, was the vital breakthrough in their talks that allowed, according to foreign secretary-designate Shiv Shankar Menon, the "resumption of dialogue" between the estranged neighbours.
Yet, hours after PM announced its setting up, few were wiser as to what the mechanism meant. New Delhi, which has so far held ISI, an organ of the Pakistan government, as a sponsor of terror groups operating from Pakistani soil, is now ready to join hands with Islamabad to counter the menace. Does it mean a shift in India’s position on the source and support infrastructure of terror?
The buzz was loud enough for Menon to reach the media hotel late on Saturday evening to try and clear the air. Despite repeated questions, he maintained that there has been no shift in India’s stance on terror. Though he seemed clear that the experiment deserved a try, he stonewalled questions by reiterating what the joint statement states: the mechanism will "identify and implement counter-terrorism initiatives and investigations".
Menon’s tactic was understandable as a shift in India’s stance on terrorism vis-a-vis Pakistan has strong implications for politics back home. Already BJP has criticised the alleged shift, describing it as unwarranted softness towards Pakistan. Menon defended the mechanism, saying "we can’t go back in time", while maintaining the two sides were "breaking new ground" to tackle terrorism.
Asked how India, which had blamed Pakistan immediately after the Mumbai bomb blasts, was now joining hands with it to fight terrorism, Menon denied that India had ever blamed its western neighbour for the blasts. ‘‘Government of India didn’t blame Pakistan," he said. "Government is still investigating the blasts. Our stance is that we need to tackle terrorism, whatever the source."

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