National

Kashmir not negotiable, says Venkaiah Naidu

By Our Special Correspondent

TIRUPATI MAY 28. Kashmir is not negotiable inasmuch as it is an integral part of India, the Union Minister for Rural Development, M. Venkaiah Naidu, has said. Addressing a press conference here today, he said not even an inch of Kashmir would be conceded to anyone. When India had earlier said that it would talk to Pakistan on all issues, it meant Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and not Kashmir.

Mr. Naidu attacked the Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf, for the "belligerent" tone of his address to the nation on Monday. His speech showed that Pakistan had not only not learnt any lesson but also that it had not given up its "terrorist tactics'' or come out of its "terrorist mindset." Nothing in his speech indicated that he was for implementing the promises he had made in January on cracking down on the terrorists in his country.

The hectic persuasion by the Western countries for Pakistan to give up its cross-border terrorism in Kashmir obviously did not have any effect on it in real terms. In fact, Islamabad had joined the U.S. in its global fight against terrorism only to suit its own financial expediencies.

Mr. Naidu hoped that Gen. Musharraf's rhetoric of yesterday would be enough to end whatever illusions the West had on the possibility of Pakistan mending its ways and ending trans-border terrorism in Kashmir.

Pakistan was the "birthplace'' of the Taliban and many of its activists and those of the Al-Qaeda were sheltered there. Notorious underworld dons like Dawood Ibrahim were operating with Pakistan as their base and the entire world knew that the incursions into India, including those by foreign mercenaries, had been taking place through Pakistan.

India was preparing to take its fight with Pakistani terrorism to its "logical end," Mr. Naidu said. "We have now reached a `enough is enough' stage." Rebutting the Opposition charge that the Government was being "jingoistic'' about a war with Pakistan, he asked, "is it jingoism if we get ready to fight a war that was deliberately thrust on us, that too after waiting enough, giving peace all opportunities, exhausting all diplomatic measures and losing in the process precious lives of thousands of innocents?"

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