If US can, so can we, asserts Govt

AHMEDABAD/NEW DELHI, August 27: The Vajpayee government today rejected the US contention that it had the right to attack terrorists in an...

AHMEDABAD/NEW DELHI, August 27: The Vajpayee government today rejected the US contention that it had the right to attack terrorists in any country but India could not take similar action in Kashmir.

Accusing the US of pursuing quot;double standardsquot; on the issue of combating terrorists, Union Home Minister LK Advani and the ruling BJP said it was unacceptable to India. quot;How is it that you can do something and we can8217;t. Is it not double standards?quot; Advani said referring to the statement of US Under Secretary of State Thomas Pickering that Washington reserved the right to attack terrorists in any country but India could not take similar action in Kashmir as that could quot;run the risk of setting off a wider conflictquot;.

quot;The US has been time and again telling us what to do and what not to do on containing terrorism,quot; he said here after inaugurating an overbridge named after Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee in his Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency.

quot;For you, American citizens anywhere are not expendable. Are Indians expendable? We do not need your help. We are victims of terrorism and proxy war waged by Pakistan. Are we not expected to take any steps for the security of the nation and its citizens?quot; he wondered. Advani8217;s strong reactions comes a day after Washington announced that it will not support any Indian strike on terrorist camps in Pakistan similar to the American attack on the camps in Afghanistan because they present 8220;very, very different cases8221;, Pickering said yesterday in Washington.

Pickering, who has been the US ambassador in New Delhi and therefore familiar with the situation in the region, said any such Indian move could be misunderstood and go out of hand because of the large forces arrayed on both sides of the border.

Pickering also sought to differentiate between the two situations, suggesting that the Kashmir dispute was central to the terrorist activity affecting India. 8220;In the Kashmir situation, any violence could go out of hand. So we will continue to counsel restraint8221;, he said. Suggesting that there was no parallel between the situations faced by the US and India, Pickering said Washington believed that all terrorism should cease and 8220;we have talked to both sides,8221; indicating for the first time that the US is taking cognisance of Pakistan8217;s complaints about India8217;s alleged role in promoting strife within its borders.

Echoing Advani8217;s views, BJP general secretary K L Sharma also flayed the US stance and said: 8220;We disagree entirely with the US stand. Just as America is concerned about protecting its citizens, India has the same right.8221;The party also took strong exception to Pickering8217;s statement which referred to India, Pakistan and Kashmir as three separate entities.