Pak must shut down terror machinery operating on its soil: PM

Singh virtually rejected Sharif's demand for resolving the Kashmir issue based on UN resolutions

In a hard-hitting speech, Prime Minister 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 Jammu and Kashmir 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 India considers the UN resolutions as outdated.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.