Indian PM Pledges to Pursue Peace Process in KashmirPrime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee said Monday that the government was "doubly determined" to pursue the peace process in Jammu and Kashmir and keep up the fight against terrorism.However, he rejected any dialogue with Islamabad unless a "conducive atmosphere " was created for it. The Indian leader told Parliament that New Delhi had shown exemplary tolerance, patience and restraint in the face of extreme provocation by Islamabad, adding, "We have shown a degree of generosity that few other countries can match." "Unfortunately, Pakistan has misread our generosity and our desire for friendly relations as weakness and has adopted cross-border terrorism as an instrument of state policy to launch a terrorist campaign in different parts of India." Replying to clarifications on his statement on the recent spate of killings in Jammu and Kashmir, he indicated, "These killings have not and will not deter us" and "we are committed to protecting our national interests and preserving the national unity and none should doubt that we have the means to do so." Expressing the government's determination to press on with the dialogue with Hizbul Mujahideen, he said it was aimed at efforts to bring militants overground. On reports that the ongoing dialogue with Hizbul could be outside the Constitution, Vajpayee said the dialogue would be within the framework of Constitution but in the course of the dialogue if issues were raised which were outside the Constitution, the government would not be unwilling to talk. "No condition has been imposed and dialogue should continue, terrorists come into the open and killings stop," he added. He said that Kashmir should not remain a blood stained land and asserted that New Delhi will never surrender before terrorism but "fight it with all our might." |
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