Onus on Pak.: PM

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, AUG. 7. Reiterating that friendship with neighbours was a matter of commitment with India, the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, today asserted that the onus was on Pakistan to put an end to cross-border terrorism if Islamabad wanted a peaceful relationship with New Delhi. ``Pakistan can and it must stop cross-border terrorist incidents (like the one in Doda a few days ago); this would be the litmus test.''

Replying to the debate in the Lok Sabha on the Agra summit, the Prime Minister revealed for the first time the kind of plainspeaking that took place between him and the Pakistan President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf. According to Mr. Vajpayee, he told the General that Pakistan was invoking the principle of the ``wishes of the people'' of Kashmir, but ``were the people of Pakistan consulted when you took over power?''

For good measure, the Prime Minister added that his interlocutor did not expect this kind of candidness. Yet, he said, there was no alternative to letting diplomacy play its part. ``Without sacrificing our national interests, we would keep trying to improve our relations with Pakistan.''

One-point agenda

This was the Prime Minister's first comprehensive account of the summit, and while placing the blame for the summit's failure on Gen. Musharraf's ``one-point agenda'', he was careful not to sound too strident. He kept insisting that there was no dilution in India's commitment to carry forward the process of dialogue, and at the same time he was keen on serving notice that India would not negotiate from a position of weakness and that there was going to be no compromise on cross-border terrorism.

The Prime Minister also revealed that during the delegation-level talks, he had told Pakistan ``India would not give in to terrorism and no one should underestimate India's capacity to put down this terrorism''. Mr. Vajpayee added that ``we wanted the message to sink in; that is why we did not rush to the media to reveal; we were firm but also courteous, we followed the rules of protocol, and we lost out (in the media war).'' However, the Prime Minister assured the House that the lesson learnt (in the media war) would be kept in mind.

Mr. Vajpayee also emphasised quite a bit on the consequences of the change of regime in Pakistan, from a civilian to a military set-up. He pointed out that while the Lahore Declaration did acknowledge terrorism as a problem, the installation of a military government changed the entire scenario. ``We could not persuade the Pakistani delegation to acknowledge cross-border terrorism; not only that, they described it as freedom struggle; this was totally unpalatable to us and vitiated the summit atmosphere.''

Perceptions in Pak.

The Prime Minister shared with the members his reading of the perceptions within Pakistan. Quoting a write-up in the Pakistani newspaper, The Dawn, he said within Pakistan a feeling was setting in soon after Kargil that there could be no military solution to the Kashmir problem. ``Had there been no change of regime after Lahore, perhaps there could have been some settlement.'' The Prime Minister also cited the case of an unnamed Kashmiri leader who changed his tune after the military coup in Pakistan.

As per the Prime Minister's account, he told Gen. Musharraf rather bluntly that if he kept insisting on the centrality of the Kashmir dispute the talks would not take off. He explained that while India did not subscribe to the two-nation theory, ``we wished Pakistan well but at the same time Pakistan should not make efforts to dismember India''. ``Such efforts would be defeated,'' he had warned.

However, instead of striking a hawkish posture, Mr. Vajpayee gave the impression of wanting to mobilise the entire House to convey to Pakistan the country's resolve in the process of dialogue and the battle against cross-border terrorism. Mr. Vajpayee was heard with rapt attention, and those in the press gallery could not help admiring glimpses of ``Vajpayee the orator of old'' when he used to keep the House enthralled.

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