NEW DELHI, May 2: Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee said on Friday that India would re-establish full diplomatic ties with Pakistan and restore air links between the two countries.
Mr Vajpayee also told parliament that India would not accept international mediation in the two neighbours’ dispute over Kashmir.
“It has been decided to appoint a high commissioner to Pakistan and to restore civil aviation links on a reciprocal basis,” Mr Vajpayee told parliament. “We are committed to the improvement of relations with Pakistan and are willing to grasp every opportunity for doing so.
Mr Vajpayee repeated India’s stand on alleged infiltration across the Line of Control, saying “we have repeatedly expressed the need to create a conducive atmosphere for a sustained dialogue which necessarily requires an end to cross-border terrorism and the dismantling of its infrastructure.”
Mr Vajpayee’s statement follows Pakistan Prime Minister Zafarullah Jamali’s telephone conversation with him on the telephone contact itself came in the wake of a speech in Srinagar by Mr Vajpayee that was seen as marking a new peace initiative.
The Indian premier’s remarks on Friday was immediately welcomed by Pakistan and by world leaders.
Mr Vajpayee repeated India’s stand on alleged infiltration across the LoC, saying “we have repeatedly expressed the need to create a conducive atmosphere for a sustained dialogue which necessarily requires an end to ‘cross-border’ terrorism and the dismantling of its infrastructure.”
India downgraded its diplomatic ties and snapped air links with Pakistan following an attack on India’s parliament in December 2001 by gunmen New Delhi claimed belonged to groups based in Pakistan.
Rejecting Pakistan’s old proposal for international mediation to resolve the dispute over Kashmir, Mr Vajpayee said: “There are people here and there who want to mediate. Why do they want to do this? It is not clear. Pakistan is a bilateral issue. Therefore there is no need for a third party mediation.”
Mr Vajpayee’s peace moves got a cautious support from his right-wing Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), facing key state elections later this year.
But the Samata Party, a key partner in his ruling NDA coalition, backed by the Opposition parties, had sought a statement from Mr Vajpayee on his offer of hand of friendship to Pakistan.
The questions surfaced again on Friday. Parliament members cited examples of Mr Vajpayee’s Lahore bus journey, pointing out that immediately after that India faced the Kargil war. They said after President Pervez Musharraf was invited to Agra for talks, a series of terrorist attacks took place including those on Indian Parliament and Jammu and Kashmir Assembly.
“We want to know what is that new situation and new development that has prompted Mr Vajpayee to initiate peace talks,” an NDA MP remarked.
Saying he had discussed ways of carrying forward bilateral relations during the telephone call he received from Mr Jamali on April 28, Mr Vajpayee gave a gist of the telephonic talk.
In this regard, he said: “I emphasized the importance of economic cooperation, cultural exchanges, people-to-people contacts and civil aviation links.
“These would create an environment in which difficult issues in our bilateral relations could be addressed. Prime Minister Jamali suggested resumption of sporting links between the two countries. We agreed that, as a beginning, these measures could be considered,” he said.
“In this context, it has been decided to appoint a high commissioner to Pakistan and to restore the civil aviation links on a reciprocal basis,” Mr Vajpayee said. He said Mr Jamali had condemned terrorism during their conversation.
Mr Jamali had also conveyed his appreciation for the comments made by him (Vajpayee) in Srinagar as also his subsequent remarks about India-Pakistan relations in the two houses of parliament.
“We are committed to the improvement of relations with Pakistan and we are willing to grasp every opportunity for doing so,” he said.
Mr Vajpayee said he had also emphasised the importance of substantive progress on the decisions for regional trade and economic cooperation taken at the Saarc Kathmandu summit. “Agreements arrived at Kathmandu must be implemented,” he said.
When several Opposition members sought clarifications from Mr Vajpayee, the Speaker, Mr.Manohar Joshi, said as per practice in the Lok Sabha, this was not allowed but as a special case, he was permitting Congress deputy leader Shivraj V Patil to do so.
Mr Patil drew Mr Vajpayee’s attention to the reported statement of senior US Army officer, Jay Garner, that a solution to the Kashmir issue would be in place by Dec 2004 and that Asia was one of the most volatile regions.
“I have seen the report but it is not correct to say that it is the US point of view. There have been many speculations and a lot of people are moving around for mediation. We don’t know why they are doing so,” Mr Vajpayee said.
“Kashmir is a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan and no third party will be allowed to mediate,” Mr Vajpayee asserted.
Mr Vajpayee said the government has always taken the House into confidence on the peace initiative and “there is no intention to put a veil on it”. He, however, suggested that the opposition should not insist on government disclosing all details as this would not help in furthering talks with Pakistan.
“But if the House wants a fully-fledged debate on Indo- Pakistan relations, the government is ready for it,” he said, adding in a lighter vein that the Speaker should ensure good attendance in the House whenever he decides the date for such a debate.
Speaking in the Rajya Sabha, Mr Vajpayee declared that a future Indo-Pakistan dialogue would be “decisive” and “conclusive”, but stressed that the unity and integrity of the country would not be compromised at any cost.
Striking an emotional note while responding to a clarification in the Rajya Sabha on his statement, Mr Vajpayee said this would be third and final effort at improving bilateral relations with Pakistan.
“Now whatever happens will be decisive and this will be my third and last effort” in that direction, Mr Vajpayee said, adding “I am confident I will succeed.”
“Even for me, it is a decisive and conclusive step,” Mr Vajpayee said adding: “We want to give peace another chance.”
He described Mr Jamali’s overtures as “encouraging” and said: “I felt there should be some way out. When there is darkness, nobody stops us from burning a lamp. There is darkness... But I see brightness and I have courage of conviction.”
On Mr Jamali inviting him to Pakistan, Mr Vajpayee said he had invited him to Islamabad, but “I was unable to accept the invitation”. He declined to give any further details saying he did not want to do so at this stage.
Responding to a question about the government’s response to Pakistan’s plan to raise the Kashmir issue as president of the UN Security Council, Mr Vajpayee said Pakistan should be aware of the Security Council decision that the Kashmir issue should be resolved bilaterally on the basis of Simla agreement.
Regarding the appointment of India’s new high commissioner to Islamabad, Mr Vajpayee said there was a process involved which would be followed.
Asked by senior Congress member K Natwar Singh whether the government would send Harsh Bhasin, a foreign services officer who was tipped to take over the key slot, Mr Vajpayee was non- committal saying the process had to be gone through.
Mr Vajpayee said he was extending the hand of friendship to give peace yet another chance. “I do not know what is going to be the result. This is a new beginning. We welcome Mr Vajpayee’s peace initiative. A friendly atmosphere is in the interest of both the countries. But we cannot rely on Islamabad on the basis of our past experience,” RSS joint general secretary Madan Dass Devi told reporters after the first session of the three-day conclave of the “Sangh Parivar” on Thursday.