NEW DELHI, Oct 31: Indian Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha has told Pakistan that terrorism and dialogue will not be an acceptable combination for New Delhi, if peace talks are to resume with Islamabad, according to a press release issued on Thursday.

It quoted Sinha as saying in a speech at the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies that India’s nuclear test had helped remove what he said were dangerous strategic ambiguities that prevailed in the region.

Sinha was separately quoted by Indian news agencies as telling a Pakistani official at the discussion that questioning the instrument of accession of Kashmir could trigger the question of Pakistan’s existence being valid too.

“I am aware that there are critics who question India’s decision to go nuclear in 1998,” Sinha said. “My government believes that the overt exercise of the nuclear option by India has helped remove potentially dangerous strategic ambiguities in the region. It has enhanced the strategic space of the country and granted to it the needed autonomy.”

He said India was not complacent about its nuclear prowess.

“On the contrary it emphasizes India’s awareness of and commitment to greater restraint. That, amongst other reasons, is why we have sought to reassure countries in the region that our tests do not alter the essentially defensive character of our security policy,” Sinha said.

He said India had shown this through the announcement of its intention to maintain only a minimum credible deterrent, a policy of no-first-use and a voluntary moratorium on further explosive nuclear underground testing.

“Mindful of our increased responsibilities we have also sought to increase the scope of confidence building measures with our neighbours. Moreover, our decision to acquire a credible nuclear deterrent has not deflected us from our commitment to the global elimination of weapons of mass destruction and our belief that peace between nations in this new century is best guaranteed by nuclear disarmament, and not nuclear deterrence.”

Sinha said the availability of large quantities of small arms to non-state players posed a serious danger to governments in the region.

“There is an equal urgency in attending to the proliferation of small arms and light weapons and their easy availability with non-state actors. This trade must come to an end, not through policing but by an international, legally binding compact that all countries should adhere to.”

Speaking about ties with Pakistan, Sinha was blunt.

“India has always sought to maintain good and friendly relations with all its neighbours and we do have excellent relations with all — except Pakistan, which has uniformly repaid our peaceful overtures with hostility.”

“The issue here is very clear. We want a peaceful, a prosperous and a stable Pakistan. But Pakistan has to decide what kind of long-term relationship it wants with India. We are prepared to resolve all outstanding issues with Pakistan, including Jammu & Kashmir, through a process of bilateral dialogue but we cannot accept the promotion of terrorism as an instrument of state policy,” Sinha said.

India had repeatedly extended the hand of friendship to Pakistan. “But when our prime minister went to Lahore, Pakistan responded with Kargil. And when we invited General Musharraf to Agra, he wasted the opportunity by grandstanding before the press,” Sinha said.

He said: “The main problem with the leadership in Pakistan is that it continues to believe that it can calibrate terrorism and dialogue simultaneously and use terrorism as a pre-dialogue negotiating tactic. Such tactics can never succeed and the sooner Pakistan realizes this, the better it will be for its own future and for peace in the region.”

It was apparently the following claim by Sinha that provoked Pakistan diplomat Ijaz Hussein to step in.

“As representative of one sixth of humanity and an active player in the UN, India has always shown the disposition to tackle international challenges and, in concert with other like-minded countries, is prepared to do all that it can for the creation of a safer and better world. This journey must continue, because this journey’s end has no end,” Sinha said.

According to Indian news reports Hussein asked Sinha with what face could India seek to be a permanent member of the UN Security Council “after you have mishandled Sri Lanka, bullied Dhaka and blockaded Nepal, and what about the two dozens of UN resolutions on Kashmir that have been ignored.”