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| Singh asks G-8 to pressure Pak in calling truce, shed terrorism |
| V S Chandrasekar/ PTI / On Board PM's Aircraft Jul 11, 2009, 11:24 IST |
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India has asked influential countries of the G-8 and G-5 to put pressure on Pakistan to shed the path of terrorism and choose friendship with it, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh disclosed today.
He also said he hoped that he would come out of his meeting with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani next week in Egypt convinced that Pakistan will bring to justice the perpetrators of the Mumbai "massacre" and not allow terrorism directed against India from its soil.
Speaking to reporters on the way back home from attending the summit of G-8 and G-5 countries in Italy, Singh added he had taken up the problem of terrorism directed against India from Pakistani soil during his interaction with leaders of the industrialised and emerging economies.
"Wherever I have talked to leaders in the G-8 and G-5 fora, there is appreciation that India has been a victim of terrorism for the last 25 years and there is a lot of evidence (of that emerging from Pakistan). Our appeal is to all the leaders and we have told them put pressure on Pakistan to leave the path of terrorism and take the path of friendship and go forward in the relations with India."
He was replying to a question whether there has been anything "positive" done by Pakistan on India's demands after his meeting with President Asif Zardari in Yekaterinburg in Russia last month and whether India was seeking international pressure on Islamabad to check terrorism directed against it from there.
Singh said after the discussions with Zardari in Russia rpt Russia, the High Commissioners in both the countries and the Foreign Offices have talked and Pakistan's ISI has been talked to.
They have suggested that they would convey the actions they were taking on India's demands on action against the perpetrators of the Mumbai terror strike, he shared.
To a question on the current impasse with Pakistan, he said India and Pakistan were close neighbours. "We can choose our friends but we have no choice about our neighbours. India wants to realise its ambitions on development and that requires peace with neighbours."
"We will do all that is necessary to resolve outstanding issues that have bedevilled our relations with Pakistan. But that requires evidence that it will deal with terrorist elements who spend all their energy to disrupt and destabilise India."
The prime minister said he looked forward to his meeting with Gilani on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Summit in Sharm el sheik in Egypt for exchange of views.
"I do hope that after our meeting we will have a reaffirmation on the part of Pakistan that they will bring the perpetrators of the Mumbai massacre to justice and that they will not allow use of their land to terrorist elements working against India. If they do that we are willing to walk more than half the distance to normalise the relations."
In Yekaterinburg, Singh had given a stern message to Zardari in full glare of the media that his mandate was to tell him that Pakistan has to take action to check terror emanating from its soil against India.
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