New Delhi, June 2: A new nuclear doctrine proposed by Indian Foreign Minister Natwar Singh, seeking a common stand between India, Pakistan and China, was rejected summarily on Wednesday by the main opposition Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP).
The BJP's rejection came amid a somewhat more positive comment from Mr Shiv Shankar Menon, High Commissioner to Pakistan, currently in New Delhi, who met Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday.
"The commitment is there on both sides to discuss (outstanding issues) and we will do so in good faith," Press Trust of India quoted Mr Menon as saying of the foreign secretaries' talks due later this month.
The Indian envoy said that before the start of the discussions, it would be premature to state "what we will discuss". On the other hand, former foreign minister and the new Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mr Jaswant Singh said Mr Natwar Singh's statement on India's ties with Pakistan made no sense, PTI said.
"It would be difficult for me to comment since the minister has made so many statements," Mr Jaswant Singh said. "I have seen newspaper reports suggesting that there will be continuity in policies towards United States but the statements on Pakistan veered from one end to another like a pendulum. I am sure it would gain a static position."
He said relations with Islamabad were put on a 'footing' by former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in the interests of the people of India and Pakistan and for the 'larger purpose of peace in the region'.
Commenting on the common nuclear doctrine advocated by Natwar Singh, Jaswant Singh said he had no problems "if it is a personal view or fanciful outpourings." On the other hand, "If there is a serious intent then we would have expected some elaboration.
It is important that we understand the underlying rationale that the doctrines of all the three countries are altogether different," Mr Jaswant Singh said. Mr Jaswant Singh is widely regarded as an American acolyte, while Mr Natwar Singh harks back to the high point of the non-aligned movement.
PTI quoted Jaswant Singh as saying: "While India subscribes to a minimum nuclear deterrence that has a commitment to no first use, exercises restraint on export of nuclear technology, Pakistan does not have a no-first-use policy and China 's concept is totally different."
It was important that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government clarified the issue. "It is a vital security issue, not to be given to individual fanciful notion," Mr Jaswant Singh said.