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| Sunday, 6 January 2002 |
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Indian PM urges joint South Asian action to battle terrorism KATHMANDU, Jan 5 (AFP) - Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee Saturday urged a summit of South Asian leaders to "tackle terrorism together" and indirectly blamed arch rival Pakistan for stalling anti-terrorism efforts. Vajpayee said updating and strengthening a 1987 regional convention on suppressing terrorism would provide a framework for cooperation and would be a powerful "confidence building measure." In a clear reference to Pakistan, Vajpayee said that "some countries" had failed to take action to give effect to the 1987 anti-terrorism convention adopted here in Kathmandu. "We in South Asia have to recognise that our cooperative future will be significantly influenced by the way in which we can tackle terrorism together," Vajpayee said. He said India was a victim of international terrorism and said other countries in the region too have been similarly affected. "The recent experience in Afghanistan also showed graphically that tolerance, acquiescence or sponsorship of terrorism creates a monster out of the control of its own creator," Vajpayee said. Vajpayee has not held direct face-to-face talks with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf despite mounting international pressure on them to meet and work towards defusing tensions along their hostile borders. New Delhi accuses Islamabad of sponsoring cross border terrorism and tensions between the two reached new heights following the December 13 shooting at the Indian parliament. The seven-member South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is meeting here a day behind schedule because Pakistan President Musharraf was unable to make it in time Friday as he was forced to take a detour to avoid a no-fly ban on Pakistan aircraft over Indian airspace. The summit has been overshadowed by bickering between India and Pakistan, but diplomats said member states will strongly support the September UN resolutions on suppressing terrorism when the meeting closes Sunday. SAARC diplomats said the closing declaration will symbolically back the UN resolutions and regulations on freezing assets of foreign terrorist organisations. Diplomats said SAARC officials were also expected to meet in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo, probably by April, to work out details of implementing anti-terrorism measures within the region. Vajpayee noted that the 16 year old regional body was in a "state of drift" in recent years and urged action to revive the organisation which is holding its 11th summit two years behind schedule. Disagreement between India and Pakistan held up the summit which should have been held here in November 1999. "Some mindset may have to be altered, and some historical baggage jettisoned," Vajpayee said. "But we would be betraying the expectations of our peoples if we did not chart out a course towards satisfying the unfulfilled promises of our common South Asian destiny." |
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