If Pakistan refuses to remove its 'terror center', India should prepare for war: SP

Samajwadi Party leader Naresh Agarwal on Saturday issued a strong statement to Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and the UPA Government that he leads that if his Paksitani counterpart Nawaz Sharif refuses to remove its 'terror center', the country should prepare to go to war.

"I am not against talks, but the Prime Minister needs to tell the country what the talks with Nawaz Sharif are going to entail. On the one hand, the Prime Minister says that Pakistan is the epicenter of terrorism. Then, he should be straight forward about it and ask Pakistan if they are going to remove their center of terrorism or not. If they refuse to remove it, then there should not be talks, and India should be prepared for war," Agarwal said.

"I have been told that Pakistan's Government is remote controlled by terrorists. What is the point of talking to their political leaders?" he asked.

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on Friday said that he looks forward to meeting his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif even though the expectations have to be toned down in wake of the recent incidents of terror strikes in India.

Dr. Singh, who met U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House in Washington on Friday, discussed the relations and approach in dealing with Afghanistan and Pakistan.

"I explained to President Obama the difficulties that we face given the fact that the epicenter of terror still remains focused in Pakistan. And, I look forward to meeting with Nawaz Sharif even though the expectations have to be toned down," he said in Washington D.C.

Three terrorists sneaked across the border into Jammu and Kashmir and killed 10 people, including a Lieutenant Colonel of the Indian Army, in two audacious attacks on September 26.

The militants, who were dressed in Army fatigues, first struck a police station in Hiranagar of Kathua district in Jammu at about 6.45 am, killing four cops and two others. They then attacked an Army camp in Samba district and killed four Army men, before being shot dead in a nine-hour-long gun battle.

The attack took place a day after Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh left for the U.S., where he is scheduled to meet his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on Sunday for talks.