Date:07/05/2003 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2003/05/07/stories/2003050708590100.htm

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Inadequate, says India

By Amit Baruah

NEW DELHI May 6. India today described as "completely inadequate'' the Pakistani Prime Minister, Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali's response to the hand of friendship extended by the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee.

Official sources said that Mr. Jamali had not addressed India's concerns on the issue of cross-border terrorism. On trade issues, it had only put 78 items on the positive list, while some 146 other items remained on the "negative list.'' This, they said, was violative of the SAARC summit in Kathmandu that had even referred to a free trade area proposal.

The sources said that while Pakistan had agreed to restore civil aviation links, Mr. Jamali had been totally silent on the issue of "overflights.'' How could direct flights be restored while nothing was said on the question of overflights? They maintained that Mr. Jamali's remarks were not in keeping with the spirit in which Mr. Vajpayee had taken the initiative to mend fences with Islamabad.

On the issue of trade, the sources said that placing 78 items on the positive list was redressing the issue raised by round three of SAPTA, while 146 of a total of 200 items proposed by Pakistan in SAPTA-IV remained on the negative list of trade with India. They made it plain that as far as India was concerned concrete measures against the menace of terrorism were critical. The whole Pakistani effort was to take the situation to pre-December 13, 2001, without saying anything on what steps it would take on the terrorism question. While the Indian initiative remained on the table, it was evident that New Delhi is feeling a trifle let down by the Pakistani response. Clearly, India wants more than what Pakistan has offered.