'No talks with Pak till terror ends'

Days after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said India was willing to reopen talks with Pakistan, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna today reversed track and said India was yet to see Pakistan take effective steps to end infiltration and dismantle terror infrastructure, and a “meaningful dialogue” could not be possible till Islamabad implements its commitments on these counts.

Addressing the Indian envoys here, Krishna said India wished to resolve differences with Pakistan through dialogue and had conveyed its readiness to engage in meaningful discussions and develop bilateral relations in a “positive manner”.

“We have maintained that a stable Pakistan, at peace with itself and the region is a desirable goal. We wish to address our differences with Pakistan through dialogue,” Krishna told the 112 Heads of Missions, who have assembled here for a two-day conclave to discuss how India’s interests could be enhanced abroad.

“At the same time, we made it clear that a meaningful dialogue will only be possible following the fulfilment by Pakistan of its commitment not to allow its territory to be used for terrorist activities against India,” he said, adding Pakistan must honour the pledges made in this regard.

Following the Mumbai terror attacks last year, Krishna said, Pakistan has taken “some steps under the pressure of evidence presented to them. However, we are still to see Pakistan take effective steps to end infiltration and dismantle the infrastructure of terrorism”.

Krishna said terrorism and ensuring  a stable and peaceful neighbourhood were the main challenges before India’s pursuit of a national goal of comprehensive socio-economic development.

Krishna also dwelt upon India’s engagement with the world, saying the main purpose of the foreign policy is to assist in the fulfilment of the “foremost strategic goals” of development, inclusive economic growth and alleviation of poverty.

These goals would be met by providing an enabling external environment which “ensures our security, promotes trade, nurtures our key bilateral relationships, safeguards our national interest and enhances our influence in the world,” the external affairs minister told the envoys.

“We should never forget that the aspirations of India’s people are the bedrock of India’s foreign policy,” he added.

Referring to the immediate neighbourhood, Krishna said India is committed to close and good neighbourly relations with all the countries in the sub-continent.

"We share a special affinity and common destiny with our neighbours," he said.

Turning to China, he said "there is space for both of us to grow and meet our aspirations."He said China is "now India’s largest trading partner and there is congruence in our views on many global issues but there are outstanding bilateral issues that should be resolved peacefully through dialogue."

He also talked about India's growing engagement with Afghanistan and rest of the world, particularly the US, Russia and East Asia.

Krishna stressed that economic work of Indian Missions wass increasing in importance as New Delhi’s engagement with the world had deepened and its global trade had grown substantially in recent years.

"In fact, with many countries, bilateral, economic and commercial relations have become the driving force for more intensive engagement and for many other relationships, (these) are providing anchor for more stable relations," he said.

"Our soft power is a tremendous asset to promote India’s visibility and influence in the global arena today. This is manifest in the outreach afforded to us across the world by our culture, cinema, technology, diaspora and other important elements of our soft power. We need to develop our capabilities to utilise this asset to the fullest extent," the External Affairs minister said.

On Russia, he said the bilateral relations are time tested and "we are giving them a contemporary definition in areas such as nuclear energy, space and defence."

With regard to the US, he said "we are going to build on the positive momentum" of the last few years and that the "new dialogue architecture" would reflect the increasingly global character of the bilateral dialogue.

"India’s established capabilities in high technology and our unimpeachable record of using these technologies in a responsible and transparent manner are creating opportunities for upgrading our access to high technology from the major powers," he noted.