P M IN BALUCHISTAN

A lot of hue and cry is been raised by the opposition and media, over the baluchis -tan issue . Opposition is again raising demanding , resignation from the PM . THE ISSUE

The whole thing began with the joint statement of india-pak issued at Sharm el-Sheikh (Egypt),at the 15th NAM summit. the chief point of guidelines were The prime ministers 'considered the entire gamut of bilateral relations with a view to charting the way forward in India-Pakistan relations' and agreed that the foreign secretaries should 'meet as often as necessary and report to the two foreign ministers' who would meet on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. Both leaders agreed that that terrorism is the main threat to both countries.' In response to the PM's call to bring the perpetrators of 26/11 to justice Pakistan Prime Minister Gilani stated that they would 'do everything in its power in this regard', that it had given an updated status dossier on investigations into 26/11, and that it sought additional information/evidence. PM said that the dossier was under review. the comment is by a former Indian high commissioner to Pakistan and former deputy national security adviso (Comment: The PM's demand was, unfortunately, minimalist. It was restricted only to seeking satisfaction on 26/11 with no call for dismantling the infrastructure of terror or even an assurance, as given by Pakistan in January 2004, that the territory under its control would not be used for terrorist attacks against India. Pakistan's response was also minimalist and not even in the nature of a cast iron guarantee that those responsible for 26/11 would be brought to justice. Moreover, the ball is now in India's court, in respect of 26/11, as we are yet to respond to the dossier given to us). Both prime ministers agreed that they 'will share in real time credible information on any future terrorist threats'. Prime Minister Gilani mentioned that 'Pakistan has some information on threats in Baluchistan and other areas'. (Comment: This is the first time that an India-Pakistan joint statement hints at Indian involvement in Baluchistan and in 'other areas'. It is myopic to see no harm in this as it equates India with Pakistan as a perpetrator of terror. The international community, which hitherto was convinced of our bona fides on this account will now begin to have doubts. Finally, this will be used to discredit the Baluchistan freedom struggle and harsher measures against it by the Pakistani authorities are on the cards. * Both the prime ministers recognised that 'dialogue is the only way forward. Action on terrorism should not be linked to the composite dialogue process and these should not be bracketed'. The PM added that India was ready to discuss with Pakistan all issues 'including all outstanding issues'. 'Prime Minister Singh reiterated India's interest in a stable, democratic, Islamic Republic of Pakistan'. (Comment: It ill behoves the prime minister of a secular country to espouse an interest in the religious labelling of any State. What would be his position if tomorrow the democratic forces in Pakistan decide that it should be a secular state?

The thing to which most people are concluding is that it is case of bad drafting. Also some sees it as result of american pressure .Also the delayed support to Manmohan singh by the question raises suspicion that congress , may not be too happy with his statement.

THE PM REPLY IN PARLIAMENT :EXCERPTS

An interpretation has been sought to be given to the Joint Statement that we will continue to engage in a composite dialogue whether Pakistan takes action against terrorism or not. This is not correct. The Joint Statement emphasized that action on terrorism cannot be linked to dialogue. Pakistan knows very well that with terrorism being such a mortal and global threat, no civilized country can set terms and conditions for rooting it out. It is an absolute and compelling imperative that cannot be dependent on resumption of the composite dialogue. In the Joint Statement itself, the two sides have agreed to share real time, credible and actionable information on any future terrorist threats. When I spoke to Prime Minister Gilani about terrorism from Pakistan, he mentioned to me that many Pakistanis thought that India meddled in Balochistan. I told him that we have no interest in destabilizing Pakistan nor do we harbour any ill intent towards Pakistan. We believe that a stable, peaceful and prosperous Pakistan living in peace with its neighbours is in our own interest. I told him then, and I say it here again, that we are not afraid of discussing any issue of concern between the two countries. If there are any misgivings, we are willing to discuss them and remove them. I said to him that I had been told by the leadership of Pakistan several times that Indian Consulates in Afghanistan were involved in activities against Pakistan. This is totally false. We have had Consulates in Kandahar and Jalalabad for 60 years. Our Consulates perform normal diplomatic functions and are assisting in the reconstruction of Afghanistan, where we have a large aid programme that is benefiting the common people of Afghanistan. But we are willing to discuss all these issues because we know that we are doing nothing wrong. I told Prime Minister Gilani that our conduct is an open book. If Pakistan has any evidence, and they have not given me any and no dossier has been given, we are willing to look at it because we have nothing to hide.

see balochistan issue