*Singh-Sharif talks today
UNITED NATIONS, Sept 28: In a hard-hitting speech, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh today asked Pakistan to shut down “terrorist machinery” on its soil while making it clear that there can “never, ever” be a compromise on the territorial integrity of India of which J&K is an integral part.
In his address to the UN General Assembly, he virtually rejected Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s demand for resolution of the Kashmir issue on the basis of UN Security Council resolutions, saying India favoured settlement of all issues on the basis of the Simla Agreement.
Yesterday, Sharif had made the demand when he raked up the Kashmir issue in his speech.
“India is committed sincerely in resolving all issues with Pakistan, including the issue of Jammu and Kashmir, through bilateral dialogue on the basis of Simla Agreement,” he said. India considers the UN resolutions as outdated.
Singh said terrorism remained a grave threat to security and stability everywhere and extracts a heavy toll of innocent lives around the world.
“From Africa to Asia, we have seen several manifestations of this menace in the last few days alone,” he said in an apparent reference to the twin terror attacks near Jammu on Thursday that claimed 10 lives and the Kenyan mall attack.
“State-sponsored cross-border terrorism is of particular concern to India, also on account of the fact that the epicentre of terrorism in our region is located in our neighbourhood in Pakistan.”
While expressing readiness to solve issues including J&K through bilateral dialogue, the Prime Minister said, “However, for progress to be made, it is imperative that the territory of Pakistan and the areas under its control are not utilised for aiding and abetting terrorism directed against India.
“It is equally important that the terrorist machinery that draws its sustenance from Pakistan be shut down. There must be a clear understanding of the fact that J&K is integral part of India and that there can never, ever, be a compromise with the unity and territorial integrity of India.”
Singh, who arrived here last night from Washington, will hold his first one-on-one meeting with Sharif since the latter assumed office in June.
The India-Pakistan dialogue process was put on hold after an Indian soldier was beheaded on the Line of Control (LoC) in January. Ties hit a new low when five more soldiers were killed by Pakistani troops along the LoC last month.
The terror attacks near Jammu virtually threatened to derail the New York meeting, with main opposition BJP demanding that Singh call off his meeting with Sharif.
But Singh decided to go ahead with the meeting, saying such attacks will not succeed in derailing the dialogue process.
Expectations from the high-profile meeting will be toned down, as the Prime Minister himself put it in the media briefing after his talks with President Barack Obama, “given the terror arm which is still active in our subcontinent”.
Meanwhile, after receiving US backing on the issue of terrorism emanating from Pakistan, Singh will meet Nawaz Sharif here tomorrow when he is likely to ask him to rein in terror elements operating from their soil and unleashing violence in India.
Expectations from the high-profile meeting, coming against the grim backdrop of terror attacks near Jammu on Thursday, however, will be toned down, as the Prime Minister himself put it in the media briefing after his talks with President Barack Obama, “given the terror arm which is still active in our sub continent”.
Prime Minister Singh has made it clear that any progress in the bilateral dialogue will depend on action by Pakistan against terror groups operating from its soil.
Singh, who arrived here last night from Washington to attend the UN General Assembly, will hold his first one-on-one meeting with Sharif since the latter assumed office in June.
The two leaders are expected to discuss bilateral ties and ways to remove difficulties in normalising relations.
Sharif, who is committed to improving bilateral ties with India, yesterday said he was looking forward to the meeting with Singh to make a “new beginning” and to re-engage with India in a “substantive and purposeful dialogue.”
The India-Pakistan dialogue process was put on hold after an Indian soldier was beheaded on the Line of Control (LoC) in January. Ties hit a new low when five more soldiers were killed by Pakistani troops along the LoC last month.
The terror attacks near Jammu, which left 10 people dead, mostly security personnel, virtually threatened to derail the New York meeting with main opposition BJP demanding the Prime Minister that his meeting with Sharif be called off.
But Singh decided to go ahead with the meeting, saying such attacks will not succeed in derailing the dialogue process.
Islamabad has been pushing for the meeting in New York and has repeatedly asked Singh to visit Pakistan, where he was born. On its part, India has insisted that Pakistan must take steps to stop terrorism emanating from its soil and to prosecute those responsible for the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
Singh yesterday asserted that Pakistan remains the “epicentre of terror” and said expectations over his meeting with Sharif have to be “toned down”.
Obama expressed deepest sympathies for the loss of life in the twin attacks in Jammu and assured Singh that he will have a “frank” conversation in this regard with Sharif when they meet here on October 23, the sources said.
Singh said India faces difficult challenges and the terror sanctuaries in Pakistan needed to be dealt with effectively not only for security but also for the prospect of progress of the dialogue, they said.
The US side shared India’s deep concern over the threat posed by Lashkar-e-Toiba to India as well as the region and the world after Singh told him that the terror group along with Jamaat-ud-Dawa, headed by Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed, gets “handsome financial support” from the Government of Punjab in Pakistan, the sources said.
At tomorrow’s meeting, the Indian side will see what the new Pakistan Prime Minister, who has made “some nice statements” about the relationship, has to offer to address its concerns over ceasefire violations on the Line of Control and International Border, continued terrorism and inaction against the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai attack.
“I will try to bridge the distance between Pakistan and India during my meeting with Manmohan Singh,” Sharif said on the eve of their meeting on the sidelines of UN General Assembly session here.
In an interview with a private Pakistani TV channel, Mr Sharif justified his remarks on Kashmir in the course of his address to the UN General Assembly, saying he had ‘only stated facts’ about the issue.
“Nobody should take offence,” the Pakistani leader, whose family has its roots in Kashmir, remarked.
India should not forget that the facts he had stated in his address about Kashmir were “correct”, Mr Sharif told Geo TV.
In his address to the UN General Assembly, Singh also called for building international consensus on key issues like cyber security, nonproliferation and terrorism.
“This year, 25 years after Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi put forward a comprehensive Action Plan for a Nuclear Weapon-free and Non-violent World Order, we must strengthen efforts against nuclear proliferation and pursue time-bound, universal, nondiscriminatory, phased and verifiable nuclear disarmament,” Singh said in his address.
Singh also called for guarding against terrorists and non-state actors gaining access to sensitive materials and technologies including those used in nuclear weapons.
The Prime Minister’s remarks on nuclear disarmament come 25 years after then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi gave his historic speech at the United Nations wherein he proposed a nuclear-free world and termed nuclear deterrence to be the “ultimate expression of the philosophy of terrorism, holding humanity hostage to the presumed security needs of a few.”
Gandhi had proposed a three-stage process of total disarmament with the accent on a regime that was global, universal and non-discriminatory.
Making a strong case for the reform of the UN Security Council to reflect current political realities, Singh said global peace and security issues must be handled through multilateral efforts.
The UN’s role in advancing peace and security is the focus of renewed attention at a time when the world is facing multiple challenges, Singh said.
“The UN Security Council must be reformed and restructured to reflect current political realities. More developing countries should be included as both permanent and non-permanent members,” he said.
India has been pushing for its inclusion in an expanded and restructured Security Council, a move that has been backed some key P-5 members but China has been non-committal.
“Multilateral efforts must guide our quest for peace and security, wherever they are threatened. And the centrality and contribution of the UN system to development must be restored,” he said.
“Countries are now not only more interdependent, but also face new and increasingly complex challenges. For multilateralism to remain relevant and effective in the future, multilateral institutions need to be reformed,” Singh said.
Singh indicated that the reforms should also encompass global financial bodies. “Multilateral Financial Institutions should also enable an enhanced voice for developing countries in their decision making structures,” he said.
Singh said growing scepticism about the UN’s handling of peace and security issues underlined the necessity of reforms. He said “never has scepticism about the UN’s capacity to do so been higher, or the external environment less propitious for multilateralism”.
Multilateral efforts require the “building of a new international consensus, suited to our time and rooted in today’s realities. It is only such a plan of action that will enable the UN to meet the twin tests of legitimacy and efficacy,” he said. (Agencies)
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