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Let us start a dialogue: Sattar
By Our Special Correspondent
CHENNAI, JAN. 1. Pakistan's Foreign Minister, Mr. Abdul Sattar, has said that ``We need to stop the build-up and start the process of dialogue (between India and Pakistan) so that whatever problems are seen by one side or the other can be addressed with a cool mind. War benefits neither side''.
In an exclusive interview, in Islamabad on December 28, to A.G. Noorani for the forthcoming issue of Frontline, Mr. Sattar said ``We are doing our utmost to prevent escalation of the tension.'' He also expressed Pakistan's willingness to ``cooperate fully'' with India in efforts for ``the prevention and eradication of terrorism'' and, specifically, ``in eradicating such outfits that indulge in terrorism''.
Acknowledging that ``we have some organisations which are extremist and even terrorist in nature,'' he specifically included the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen in this category. The Musharraf Government had taken various concrete steps, in the domestic context, to ``deal with this kind of extremism and terrorism''. The steps include bans on some groups, putting some others on a warning or watch-list, freezing accounts, a campaign of de- weaponisation, and legal proceedings against those holding unlicensed weapons. However, ``pursuing a policy of containing and eliminating these tendencies in the country is bound to take some time.''
Mr. Sattar said that in dealing with Osama bin Laden, the United States ``compiled large dossiers and brought these to the notice of the United Nations Security Council'' which adopted three resolutions on that basis. ``They showed it to us. It was quite a thick file. But we cannot pronounce a judgment on it. That is not the task of a Government, but I recall that when the information was shown to us I publicly said it was an impressive body of information and evidence. But weighing it is not a political but a judicial task. Were Osama to surrender, he surely would have been presented in an appropriate court of law, which would have pronounced its verdict.''
Asked about the prospect of an extradition treaty between Pakistan and India, he said: ``Surely, that would be desirable. But let us also remember the pitfalls, and that is with regard to the definition of the territories of the two countries.''
On the October 1 terrorist attack in Srinagar and the ``reprehensible act that took place on December 13 in New Delhi'', Mr. Sattar said: ``No civilised state can possibly tolerate such acts, and I can assure you that the Government of Pakistan is absolutely clear in its mind that such acts have not only to be denounced but the people who engage in them, their sponsors and so on, should be identified and brought to justice.''
He wanted India to be ``both considerate and conscious rather than make demands''. With specific reference to the post- December 13 situation, Mr. Sattar said that after receiving the Indian demarche the next day, the Pakistan Government's response was `please provide us with some evidence'. ``We cannot act arbitrarily at the request of a foreign government.''
On the Agra Summit, Mr. Sattar said ``There was a sense of optimism before we went to Agra.'' He also recalled with warmth the close working relationship he had with Mr. Jaswant Singh: ``I am glad to say that we worked quite fast in an atmosphere of mutual understanding and were able to remove all the square brackets on which there were differences.''
According to Mr. Sattar, the talks broke down after the Government of India refused to accept, even after revision, a paragraph in the mutually agreed Declaration.
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