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A positive sign, say political parties
By Our Special Correspondent
The Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, with senior party leader, Manmohan Singh, the CPI(M) leader, Harkishan Singh Surjeet, and the CPI leader, D. Raja, after the meeting at the Prime Minister's residence in New Delhi on Sunday. - PTI
NEW DELHI, JAN. 13. Political parties here were appreciative of the strongly-stated intention of the Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf, to rid Pakistan of religious extremism and terrorist outfits, but were disappointed with his statements on Kashmir during his televised address to his nation on Saturday.
After a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security, the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, today chaired a meeting of major political party leaders to elicit their views on Gen. Musharraf's address. Members of the CCS - the External Affairs Minister, Jaswant Singh, the Finance Minister, Yashwant Sinha, and the Defence Minister, George Fernandes - were also present.
Broadly speaking, the reactions were positive, with the leaders emphasising the need for India and Pakistan to engage in a dialogue to resolve long-standing disputes, but not without cautioning the Government against ``third party'' mediation.
Although most of them said they would wait to see whether the General was able to deliver what he had promised, there was no doubt that they were hopeful that the development would lead to the easing of tensions on the border where the armies of the two countries are fully deployed.
Although the de-escalation of military build-up did not come up at the meeting, the general view was that this could take place in a week or two. The CPI(M) politburo said: ``Gen. Musharraf's statement should help create the atmosphere for de- escalating tensions'' and the ``first step should be to demobilise troops on both sides of the border.'' The CPI national secretary, D. Raja, also hoped that the new situation would lead to the ``de-escalation'' of tensions on the border.
There may, however, not be any immediate let-up on the diplomatic offensive against Pakistan - at least on the demand for the hand over of those alleged to be involved in criminal and terrorist acts here.
The Congress leaders, Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh, said they would like to see Gen. Musharraf's promises translate into action. ``The proof of the pudding is in the eating,'' Dr. Singh said.
The party was disappointed because while expressing his wish for a dialogue on Kashmir, the General had made no mention of the Shimla Accord or the Lahore Declaration. Instead, unfortunately, he hinted at a preference for third party mediation. ``Gen. Musharraf said Kashmir was in his blood, if that is so he needs diplomatic dialysis,'' K. Natwar Singh, chairman of the Congress foreign affairs department, said.
Vijay Kumar Malhotra, chief whip of the Bharatiya Janata Party, strongly objected to Gen. Musharraf's refusal to hand over criminals and terrorists - Indian and Pakistani nationals - to India. ``This would mean that Pakistani citizens can commit crimes in other countries with impunity and go back to the safety of their country.''
The party also took exception to the General's reference to ``state-sponsored terrorism'' and ``human rights violations'' in Jammu and Kashmir and the need for a third party to ``monitor this.'' But there was appreciation for his comments on the misuse of `masjids' and `madrasas' in Pakistan for encouraging terrorism. ``It was good to hear him, let us see what he does on the ground,'' was how Mr. Malhotra put it.
In a statement, the CPI(M-L), which was not part of the meeting, urged the Government to ``stop whipping up war hysteria'' and respond positively by engaging Pakistan in a ``serious and comprehensive'' dialogue.
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