Advani pledges ‘fitting reply’

Significantly, both Advani and Minister of State for External Affairs Omar Abdullah came down heavily on the US for turning a blind eye to Pakistan unleashing a string of terrorist strikes on India. Disclosing details of his meeting yesterday with the US Ambassador Robert Blackwill, Advani said ‘‘I told the Ambassador that the people of India have been disappointed by the US in failing to rein in Pakistan. I told him that Pakistan had become emboldened due to the US’s soft-glove handling.’’

Omar went a step ahead when said that post-September 11 the Government’s diplomatic offensive against Pakistan had failed badly. ‘‘All that we have got from international community,’’ he said, ‘‘has been a dose of lip service. This is the real tragedy. In contrast, Pakistan has emerged as a gainer, with European markets opening its doors to its textiles and other goods making their way into the US. Most shockingly, the World Bank sanctioned a loan of $500 million loan to Pakistan after the Jammu strike.’’

Both Abdullah and Advani said that the Government owed an answer to Armymen whose family members were gunned down by the three militants in Jammu while they were away guarding the borders.

The resolution moved by Speaker Manohar Joshi after the debate was adopted unanimously by the House, but it did not adequately reflect the mood of members which favoured decisive action against Pakistan.

The tone of the debate was set by Leader of Opposition Sonia Gandhi whose speech came in for praise from Advani. In her short address, she, like all other Opposition leaders, offered her party’s unstinted support to the government in dealing with the situation.

She also pointed out that India should not rely on other countries saying ‘‘we have to counter terrorism within our borders by ourselves.’’ The government, she said, ‘‘may be tempted to go in for rhetoric but that is no substitute for strategy.’’ Others from the Opposition benches like CPI(M) veteran Somnath Chatterjee took off from where Sonia left. Calling for a ‘‘mature’’ response, he disapproved of ‘‘jingoistic postures’’’ being adopted by members of the ruling party.