PM admits terror shadow on talks

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today told Parliament that the threat to the peace process from extremist forces has not been eliminated and h...

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today told Parliament that the threat to the peace process from extremist forces has not been eliminated and he looked forward to Pakistan implementing its assurances in letter and spirit.

The PM, who was making a statement on the recent visits of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, said both India and Pakistan should be aware of the difficulties ahead, as the 8216;8216;threat to the peace process from extremist forces and terrorist organisations has not been eliminated.8217;8217;

Referring the joint statement on Monday at the end of Musharraf8217;s visit, Singh said this reaffirmed the commitments made in the joint statements of January 6, 2004 and September 24, 2004. 8216;8216;This reaffirmation addressed our concerns relating to terrorism from across the border,8217;8217; he said, adding that it 8216;8216;also contained a pledge that terrorism would not be allowed to impede the peace process.8217;8217;

He said the issue of Jammu and Kashmir was discussed 8216;8216;in a positive atmosphere.8217;8217; 8216;8216;I emphasized that while redrawing of boundaries was not possible, all measures that could bring the people on both sides together, including increased transportation linkages to facilitate greater traffic of people and trade from across the border and the Line of Control, would help the process and create an atmosphere of mutual trust and confidence.8217;8217;

The PM said that both he and Musharraf agreed to continue the 8216;8216;discussions in a sincere, purposeful and forward-looking manner8217;8217;.

On Wen8217;s visit, Singh said a major outcome was the agreement to pro-actively resolve outstanding differences. While the agreement with China sets out the principles for an over-all settlement of the boundary question, 8216;8216;we do acknowledge that we are still quite some distance away from a final boundary settlement.8217;8217;

The PM announced amid a round of applause that Sikkim is 8216;8216;no longer an issue in India-China relations8217;8217; and China regards Sikkim as an 8216;8216;inalienable part of India.8217;8217;

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Later, while speaking to the media, senior BJP leader Jaswant Singh sought to know what the Government implied by a 8216;8216;final settlement8217;8217; on J-K. He also claimed that the latest joint statement has several gaps on the issue of terrorism. 8216;8216;A total omission of violence, hostility is extremely worrisome, particularly as both the Defence Minister and Chief of Army staff have publicly confirmed Pakistan8217;s continuing role in promoting terrorism,8217;8217; he added.