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| Ghost of joint statement haunts opposition | | |
The ghost of July 16 Indo-Pak joint statement continues to haunt the opposition in India.It had haunted a section of people also but after the Prime Minister,Manmohan Singh,explained his st and on the issue it has seemingly diluted some apprehensions.But the opposition,especially the BJP,the SP and JD(U) still do not seem to be satisfied with the Prime Minister's elaborate explanation of the stand he took during his meeting with Yousaf Raza Gilani on the sidelines of the NAM summit in Egypt.One has to read closely the statement made by Manmohan Singh on the floor of the Lok Sabha on Wednesday and once it is done Manmohan Singh may not be viewed as a man who committed a blunder in Egypt.He said he had conveyd to the Pakistani leaders that an attack of the size of Mumbai if repeated "will be an intolerable strain on our relationship."He made it clear that notwithstanding the joint statement he had told Pakistani leaders that composite dialogue was possible only after Pakistan took strict action against the perperators of the Mumbai mayhem.What seems to have motivated Manmohan Singh to hold dialogue with his Pakistani counterpart in Egypt is the 34-page dossier that was handedover by Pakistan to the Indian side.The dossier contained details of action Islamabad had taken against those involved in Mumbai attack.As far as other controversial issue regarding Pakistan's mention of India's hand in Balochistan trouble was concerned the US special envoy,Richard Holbrooke,has come to the rescue of Manmohan Singh.The US envoy announced that Pakistan had no credible evidence against India's hand in Balochistan turmoil.Well,certain lines in the joint statement,particularly the one in which Pakistan claimed that fight against terrorism had been delinked from the composite dialogue,had created misgivings among the opposition leaders in India.And rightly the BJP leader,Yashwant Sinha and others held Manmohan Singh responsible for reversing India's stand on the resumption of dialogue.But these opposition leaders need to realise the gravity of the situation when total refusal on the resumption of dialogue could result in a third-party mediation.Manmohan Singh has stated that "if India and Pakistan did not talk,it may open the possibilities of a third party intervention."He is right because the US is quite keen to mediate.At one stage the US administration had hinted at mediating between India and Pakistan on the Kashmir issue and Pakistan too has been favouring it.But when India protested against any third party intervention that the US Government denied reports that it was planning to mediate.If the BJP leaders are vocal in criticising Manmohan's role in Egypt they need to remember that Manmohan Singh's Pakistan policy was a continuation of Atal Behari Vajpayee's policy that he had adopted when he was the Prime Minister.Vajpayee had visited Islamabad in 2004 even after Kargil,Kandahar and the failure of the Agra summit simply to promote dialogue which could be the basis for friendly relations between the two sides needed for peace in the Indian subcontinent.The opposition BJP should understand that Pakistan Government has launched massive operations against the Talibans and other extremist groups.It has initiated legal action against those involved in Mumbai attacks. Manmohan Singh describes it being a sign of progress but he wants adequate progress.Islamabad has been given a list of 42 fugitives and so far it has refused to handover these fugitives,including Dawood Ibrahim,to India.Such issues could delay resumption of a meaningful dialogue for resolving bilateral problems.At least Delhi deserves bigger flexibility from Islamabad because the former has been the main sufferer of Pakistan's aid to terrorists.(eom)
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