The Hindu : Follow up on Musharraf's gestures, says Swamy

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jan 31, 2003

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Follow up on Musharraf's gestures, says Swamy

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI Jan. 30. The Janata Party president, Subramanian Swamy, who returned from a three-day visit to Pakistan, said today that the Government of India should not allow further deterioration of relations. India should work on some of the conciliatory gestures offered by the Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf.

At the same time, there should be no let-up in pursuing tough measures against terrorists if the Government felt that cross-border terrorism continued, he told newspersons today.

Dr. Swamy, who visited Pakistan on an invitation from Gen. Musharraf, charged the BJP-led Government with seeking to "whip up" communal passions in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections, mainly by raking up fears about Pakistan. While internationally people could feel that Pakistan was not doing enough to curb cross-border terrorism, there was no justification in breaking down the communication or diplomatic interaction and dialogue.

Gen. Musharraf's conciliatory offers should be followed up. The Government had "capitulated" under the U.S. pressure whenever occasions arose for retaliatory action. If the decline in relations went out of control, it could bring someone worse than Gen. Musharraf, Dr. Swamy said.

Dr. Swamy said that Gen. Musharraf had told him that Pakistan would immediately release from its prisons 280 fishermen and 22 Sikh youths as soon as India indicated where they were to be handed over — the Karachi port or the Wagah border post.

On Wednesday's Union Cabinet reshuffle, Dr. Swamy claimed it demonstrated the lack of concept in the BJP about governance. No Government had made so many reshuffles within such a short period.

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