The Hindu : Look at Pak. closely, India tells international community

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Dec 03, 2002

National

National

Look at Pak. closely, India tells international community

By Our Diplomatic Correspondent

NEW DELHI Dec. 2. If the international community is concerned about fundamentalism, terrorism and weapons of mass destruction, then Pakistan is the country to be "very closely looked at,'' India said today.

Commenting on the concern expressed by the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, to The Hindu and the NDTV at the Kremlin over Pakistan's nuclear weapons, the Foreign Secretary, Kanwal Sibal, said India had made this point several times in the past. Islamabad had all the "three ingredients'' that were at the core of the concerns of the international community — fundamentalism, terrorism and weapons of mass destruction, he said at a press conference. India had also spoken of "nuclearising terrorism.'' ``So what President Putin has said is a reiteration of what we have been saying on several occasions in the past,'' Mr. Sibal said.

Giving details of the programme of the Russian President, who arrives in the capital tomorrow evening, Mr. Sibal said Russia and India were on the same wavelength as far as cross-border terrorism from Pakistan was concerned. ``In fact, in some respects, the Russian President seems to have articulated the concerns even more sharply....'', Mr. Sibal said, pointing out that Russia was a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and a guarantor of the non-proliferation regime.

A memorandum of understanding on counter-terrorism would be signed on Wednesday and involve inter-agency cooperation between the two countries on the exchange of information and training. On the possibility of concluding high-profile defence purchases such as the aircraft carrier, Gorshkov, and the T-22 bomber during the Putin visit, Mr. Sibal was non-committal. The issue of purchases was being handled by the Defence Ministry. These were high-value deals and had to be negotiated carefully. And they took time. "There is quite a lot on the plate.''

Mr. Sibal said that India was also interested in investing more in the energy sector not just in Russia, but also with Russia in third countries. The Russian company, Gazprom, was showing interest in the Iran-India gas pipeline. On nuclear energy cooperation beyond the Koodanakulam unit, Mr. Sibal said there was clear potential for the two countries to work together "further'' in this area. Given India's energy requirements, it would be compelled to enlarge its nuclear generation capacity.

The Foreign Secretary confirmed that India was seeking the membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), of which Russia was one of the leading lights along with China. The SCO had recently formulated its rules about membership, guest membership and observers. "We have expressed our interest in becoming a member of SCO. What we are told is that our interest is being viewed sympathetically.'' India had been told that once the rules were formulated, India's case for membership would be taken up. "Now, the time is coming... when they will have to respond to our declared interest.''

Asked whether India would be a party to the American military action against Iraq, Mr. Sibal said: "That is a leading question.'' The Iraqi President, Saddam Hussein, was cooperating with the weapons' inspectors and everyone was hoping that there would be no military conflict and that a solution would be found within the U.N. resolutions. The United States, he said, was committed to the Security Council Resolution 1441 which was clear about how the situation was to be dealt with. If and when the Security Council decided that Iraq was in "material breach'' of 1441, the question of military action would arise. Only then India would have to take a position on the issue.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National