September 26, 2003	Friday	Rajab 28, 1424

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UNITED NATIONS, Sept 25: Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee labelled Pakistan a terrorist blackmailer on Thursday in a speech to the UN General Assembly that included a powerful call for Security Council reform.

Picking up on President Pervez Musharraf’s offer on Wednesday to “encourage” a general cessation of violence within occupied Kashmir, Mr Vajpayee said the proposal was tantamount to a “public admission” that Pakistan was sponsoring terrorism.

“We totally refuse to let terrorism become a tool of blackmail,” Mr Vajpayee said.

“Just as the world did not negotiate with Al Qaeda or the Taliban, we shall not negotiate with terrorism,” he added.

In his speech to the General Assembly on Wednesday, President Musharraf proposed a ceasefire along the Line of Control, and said Pakistan would be willing to help reduce violence in held Kashmir in return for “reciprocal obligations and restraints on Indian forces”.

Mr Vajpayee, however, stuck to the Indian line that New Delhi would only enter into negotiations with Pakistan after a complete cessation of “cross-border terrorism”.

He questioned the credibility of Pakistan’s membership of the US-led “coalition against terror”, arguing that it smacked of “double standards” that could only contribute to multiplying terrorism.

The prime minister also rejected President Musharraf’s charge that India was forcing Pakistan to engage in an arms race by building up its conventional and non-conventional military hardware.

“I would like to point out to the president of Pakistan that he should not confuse the legitimate aspiration for equality of nations with outmoded concepts of military parity,” Mr Vajpayee said.

UN REFORM: Earlier in his address, he launched a scathing attack on the “complacency and negativism” of the United Nations Security Council and called for a radical overhaul of its membership.

The Indian premier said the weaknesses inherent in the make-up of the Security Council had been brutally exposed by the “extraordinary inability” of the five permanent members to agree on action in Iraq.

India has long been pushing for a permanent Security Council seat, arguing that the current holders — Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States — are unrepresentative of changes in the world order and leave no voice for the developing world.

“The permanent members guard their exclusivity,” Mr Vajpayee said. “This combination of complacency and negativism has to be countered with a strong political will.”

He also criticized the council’s decision-making mechanisms, particularly the permanent members’ veto power.

“A single veto is an anachronism in today’s world,” he said.

India was critical of the US-led invasion of Iraq which did not have UN authorization, but Mr Vajpayee said it was “no longer very productive” to linger on the past and called for a coordinated effort, spearheaded by the UN, to ensure Iraq’s security and stability.—AFP