Monday, Jan 27, 2003
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By B. Muralidhar Reddy
Mr. Swamy who is scheduled to meet Gen. Musharraf tomorrow afternoon said that he had mentioned about his visit to the Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani and the Defence Minister, George Fernandes. He said on his request to Mr. Advani, the Union Home Ministry had sent a note on internal security aspects of Indo-Pakistan relations and looked forward to a frank exchange of views with Gen. Musharraf. Incidentally Dr. Swamy would be the first Indian political personality to have interaction with Gen. Musharraf after the collapse of the Agra Summit in July 2001 and the deterioration in ties between India and Pakistan, particularly after the December 13 Parliament attack. Besides his meeting with Gen. Musharraf, the Janata Party chief is slated to make a presentation on ``Indo-Pak relations: yesterday, today and tomorrow'' at the Institute of Strategic Studies here. Dr. Swamy is of the view that the present Vajpayee Government's Pakistan policy is a ``massive failure and completely sterile'' because India has got the worst of both worlds. His argument is that neither has it ended cross border terrorism nor has it won international sympathy. ``Instead it has opened India to international ridicule because the country is made to look like an impotent wailing destitute''. He said while there is no doubt that India was facing a severe threat from cross border terrorism, it is not confined to elements coming across the LoC in Kashmir. Dr. Swamy maintained that trained terrorists have infiltrated India from Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and Sri Lanka and were engaged in acts of terrorism. ``Yet the Vajpayee Government has focused solely on Pakistan and worse without taking any concrete corrective actions. Thus the Indian Airlines hijack to Kandahar in December, 1999, the attack on Parliament on December 13, 2001 and the storming of the Swaminarayan mandir in Gujarat last year have produced no effective response from the might of India'', he said. Mr. Swamy said all talk and no action has reduced Indians to sitting ducks for terrorists. He argued that despite India's grievance about Pakistan, Gen. Musharraf deserved some `admiration' for his courageous support to the U.S.-led decimation of the Taliban in Afghanistan. ``We have to recognise that he has had a difficult balancing act to perform within his country. He has also demonstrated much greater capacity to stand up to obscurantist fundamentalist forces than his predecessors''. He said that India's Pakistan policy must include restoring normal diplomatic interaction. Delhi must reinstate the High Commission, resume air flights and re-open borders to road and rail traffic. At the same, he said, India should not hesitate to retaliate against acts of terrorism within India or across the LoC. ``It is stupid to ask Pakistan to stop cross-border terrorism when the Government there denies supporting it. It is our responsibility to end it. India refuses to believe Pakistan's denial but is ever ready to believe Sri Lanka when the Government there states that the proclaimed offender, LTTE supremo, Prabhakaran wanted in the Rajiv Gandhi murder case cannot be apprehended, despite Sri Lankan Ministers meeting him and holding parleys? Why this double standard?'' Within hours after his arrival via Dubai in Islamabad along with his party colleague, Subbayya Shetty, the Janata Party president attended the Republic Day function held at the Indian High Commission. Later he had an interactive session with the Indian High Commission Charge d'Affairs, Sudhir Vyas, and his other colleagues.
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