NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh strongly defended his recent joint statement with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani aimed at reviving their stalled dialogue and stopping cross-border terrorism even as he sternly told parliament on Wednesday that the only alternative to holding talks with Islamabad was to go to war.

Dr Singh told opposition leaders led by the Bharatiya Janata Party that his government needed no lessons in managing ties with Pakistan, whose stability was vital to India’s progress.

‘Let me say that in the affairs of two neighbours we should recall what President (Ronald) Reagan once said — trust but verify. There is no other way unless we go to war,’ the prime minister said in his prepared speech during a debate on New Delhi’s recent foreign policy initiatives.

He referred to the futility of war in another part of his speech. ‘As neighbours it is our obligation to keep our channels open. Look at what is happening in the world. The US and Iran have been sworn enemies for 30 years, and yet they feel compelled to enter into a dialogue. Unless we want to go to war with Pakistan, dialogue is the only way out. But we should do so on the basis of trust-but-verify.’

He reiterated the need for the two countries to live as good neighbours. ‘If we live in peace, as good neighbours do, both of us can focus our energies on the many problems — our abject poverty that confront millions and millions of people in South Asia. If there is cooperation between us, and not conflict, vast opportunities will open up for trade, travel and development that will create prosperity in both countries.’

The opposition and, reportedly, some of his own party colleagues have accused the prime minister of walking into a Pakistani trap at Sharm el Sheikh saying that the agreement there suggested that New Delhi would continue to talk to Islamabad even if there were further terror attacks. Dr Singh denied this.

‘I have said time and again and I repeat it right now again: it is impossible for any government in India to work towards full normalisation of relations with Pakistan unless the government of Pakistan fulfils, in letter and spirit, its commitment not to allow its territory to be used in any manner for terrorist activities against India,’ he said.

Despite the best of intentions ‘we cannot move forward if terrorist attacks launched from Pakistani soil continue to kill and injure our citizens, here and abroad. That is the national position. I stand by it’.

Dossier praised

Dr Singh revealed that he was encouraged by a latest dossier of 34 pages given to him by Pakistan two days before he embarked on the journey to France and Egypt. It gives details of the planning and sequence of events, details of the investigations carried out by the special Federal Investigation Agency team of Pakistan, a copy of the FIR lodged and the details and photographs of the accused in custody and those declared as proclaimed offenders. It provides details of the communication networks used, financing of the operation and seizures made in Pakistan including maps, lifeboats, literature on navigational training, intelligence manuals, back packs etc.

‘The Pakistan dossier states that the investigation has established beyond doubt that LeT activists conspired, financed and executed the attacks,’ Dr Singh said. ‘Five of the accused have been arrested, including Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and Zarar Shah, and thirteen others have been declared proclaimed offenders.

A charge-sheet has since been filed against them under Pakistan’s Anti Terrorism Act and other relevant laws. We have been told that the investigations are nearly complete and that the trial will now proceed. We have also been asked for some further information. We will provide this shortly.’

This was far more substantial than anything the opposition NDA government had achieved on its watch, he said. He rebutted the opposition’s charge that Pakistan was not truthworthy and recalled that Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee took unilateral initiatives to revive talks with Pakistan despite several setbacks and apparent betrayals.

‘This is the first time that Pakistan has ever formally briefed us on the results of an investigation into a terrorist attack in India. It has never happened before and I repeat this is the first time. It is also the first time that they have admitted that their nationals and a terrorist organisation based in Pakistan carried out a ghastly terrorist act in India.

‘The reality is that this is far more than the NDA government was ever able to extract from Pakistan during its entire tenure despite all their tall talk. They were never able to get Pakistan to admit what they have admitted now. So the UPA government needs no lessons from the opposition on how to conduct foreign affairs or secure our nation against terrorist threats,’ the prime minister said.

Dr Singh sought to ease the opposition’s fears that he had changed India’s policy towards Pakistan by agreeing to discuss Islamabad’s complaint about alleged Indian involvement in the troubled region of Balochistan.

Denying the claim, he said: ‘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 destabilising 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.’