U.S. may declare some Pak. outfits as terrorist: Mishra

NEW DELHI, SEPT. 3. The United States is considering declaring some militant groups in Pakistan as terrorist outfits and is ``doing everything'' to ensure that Islamabad created a conducive atmosphere in Kashmir for resumption of Indo-Pak dialogue, the Prime Minister's principal secretary, Mr. Brajesh Mishra said today.

``The U.S administration is now considering declaring some terrorist outfits in Pakistan as terrorists,'' Mr. Mishra told Star News while replying to questions on the Prime Minister's visit to the U.S. beginning September 7.

Asked if India wanted Pakistan to be declared a terrorist State, Mr. Mishra said, ``we will tell them that according to all criteria, Pakistan is a State sponsoring terrorism. It will be up to Washington to take action as per its law.''

Replying to another query, he said, ``we are sure and we have been assured that the United States is already doing everything it can to convey to Pakistan'' that Islamabad must create a conducive atmosphere in Jammu and Kashmir for resumption of talks with India.

Mr. Mishra said India would not talk to Pakistan ``with a gun on our head'' and that Islamabad must end cross-border terrorism for the dialogue process to begin.

He asserted that despite Mr. Vajpayee's truncated visit to the U.S., the Prime Minister had several important engagements including the address to the U.N. General Assembly, especially in the wake of New Delhi's claim for a permanent membership of the Security Council.

On the business engagements, Mr. Mishra said it was likely that Mr. Vajpayee would be meeting business leaders in Washington on the 15th of this month.

On being asked why no plans had been drawn for a meeting with the Republican presidential candidate, Mr. George Bush, Mr. Mishra said there was a possibility of a meeting.

He denied that Mr. Vajpayee's knee problem had overshadowed the visit and said except for the San Francisco leg of the tour, his schedule in New York and Washington basically remained unaltered.

- PTI

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