No normalisation of ties with Pak till it ends terror: PM

On the eve of Pakistan Prime Minister Raja Parvez Ashraf's visit, India today said there cannot be normalisation of ties with Pakistan unless the terror machine still active there was brought under control.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said India has made sincere efforts to normalise its relations with Pakistan and had achieved some progress.

"People to people contacts have gone up, trade relations have shown improvement," Singh said in the Rajya Sabha replying to a debate on Motion of Thanks to President's address.

"But there cannot be normalisation of relations between our two countries unless and until the terror machine which is still active in Pakistan is brought under control," he said.

Singh said this has been his government's policy for the past nine years and would continue in the coming times.

The Prime Minister's remarks come ahead of the his Pakistan counterpart's visit to India tomorrow.

Ashraf, during a day-long visit, is scheduled to offer prayers at the famous dargah of sufi saint Moinuddin Chisti at Ajmer.

External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid will host a lunch in his honour at Jaipur, but no "substantive talks" are expected to take place.

Ashraf's visit comes at a time when there is a chill in bilateral ties over the ceasefire violations at the Line of Control in Kashmir.

An Indian soldier was beheaded by Pakistani troops while the mutilated body of another was found in January.

Noting that India has an "unsettled neighbourhood" and needed to remain alert, Singh said the government will "never compromise" with its national interests.

"With Pakistan, we have made sincere efforts to normalise relations. We have achieved some results, people to people contact and trade has shown improvement.

"But there cannot be normalisation, unless and until the terror machine, which is still active in Pakistan, is brought under control. This has been our policy since last 9 years and this will be our same approach to deal with Pakistan in the coming times," the Prime Minister said.

On the plight of ethnic Tamils in Sri Lanka, Singh shared the concern expressed by members and asked the government there to ensure "dignity and self respect" to them.

"We have been worried about the fate of Tamil people in Sri Lanka.... There must be political reconciliation. Without the reconciliation, the situation cannot be resolved there.

"Sri Lanka government must take initiative to talk to the Tamil leadership in Sri Lanka and ensure that the Tamil people are given a life of dignity and self respect," he said.

Singh said India wants its neighbours to prosper and will work with them to strive for providing the SAARC region with new growth, not achieved so far.

Terming the debate on the Motion of Thanks as "vigorous" and "wide-ranging", the Prime Minister tore into BJP's charge that his government has not handled the economy well as he cited figures to show the growth had been better during the UPA rule than the NDA rule.

He particularly singled out Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley for his attack, saying he should assess the economic situation in an unbiased manner, using his "good sense" and not merely score political points.

He shared the members' concern over the slow-down of economy during the current fiscal but exuded confidence that the country will get back to the path of 7 to 8 per cent growth in the next two to three years.