NEW DELHI, March 12: Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee said on Friday that public opinion in both countries and not politics alone was driving the detente with Pakistan
and asked Islamabad to join his search for "innovative ideas" to resolve bilateral differences.
Mr Vajpayee said India's relations with its neighbours, including China, were on the mend, all marked by a quest for greater economic cooperation.
"It is this language of cooperation, ditente and dialogue, which we have consistently used in our neighbourhood policy," he told an international symposium organised by India Today.
Mr Vajpayee said an agreement reached with Pakistan in January "flowed from our consistent stand that it is only bilateral dialogue which can solve our problems; that this dialogue cannot be pursued or sustained if terrorism continues; and that all problems - including Jammu & Kashmir - should be addressed in this dialogue."
US Secretary of State Colin Powell was due to address the two-day symposium later on Friday through a satellite hookup.
President Gen Pervez Musharraf is to address the two-day symposium through a video link on Saturday evening. Pakistani officials said Gen Musharraf would answer questions from the international audience after his speech.
Mr Vajpayee obliquely referred to India's recent turbulent ties with Pakistan. "Throughout the recent difficult years, when we had to fashion responses appropriate to immediate challenges, we have consistently had this clarity of purpose," he said. "I have also frequently said that in this changing and fast moving world, we cannot afford to remain shackled by history. We should be willing to look at innovative ideas for resolution of our bilateral differences."
"Of course, it is public opinion in both countries which has to lead the politicians to pragmatic and acceptable solutions. That is why we have been advocating intensification of trade, economic cooperation, cultural exchanges and sporting links, so that public opinion in both countries can be mobilized in support of the peace dividend. The economic stakes that South Asian nations develop in each other will eventually wipe away misunderstanding and suspicions, and create a South Asian Economic Union," Mr Vajpayee said.
Two more issues he raised seemed to involve Pakistan. Referring to the war on terrorism, he said: "We have to resist the temptation of short-term political goals diverting us from the long-term objective.
"India is convinced that ultimately the battle against international terrorism can only be effectively won by the widest possible coalition of democracies acting in concert. It is an objective we will continue to pursue."
Turning to the issue of indiscriminate proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, he said this was feeding a black market of non-state actors.
"We have always maintained that existing non-proliferation regimes are all grossly unequal and would not serve the purpose of military de-nuclearization.
They have restrained the responsible and rewarded the reckless. Let me declare unequivocally that India supports the objective of genuine non- proliferation. We have pursued it from our own perspectives and for our own good. India can contribute meaningfully, and even add value, to a multilateral cooperative framework for this."
In reference to Mr. Vajpayee's stress on a new foreign policy, Indian Foreign Minister told the gathering: "We are now even thinking the unthinkable."
He said while differences with China and Pakistan, which have festered for decades, are being addressed in a straightforward and pragmatic manner as never before, there is a new dynamic in South Asia with the signing of the Safta.
Saarc is exploring how progress can be made towards an economic union, including a common currency. And, work has already commenced on transport and energy corridors that will criss-cross Asia with India as its hub.
